21 days
by 2old4fanfic
Summary: Dr. Isabella Swan is exhausted. After weeks in Africa helping to treat victims of the Ebola Virus, she just wants to go home. When she arrives stateside, her welcoming committee is a squad of military police, sent to escort her to a federally mandated 21 day quarantine. She has no idea how those 21 days will completely change her life. B/E AU/AH
1. Day 1

**21 Days**

**Day One**

"Dr. Swan, over here!"

Bella turned, the sight of four armed military police flanking six people in white hazmat suits not surprising her.

Emmett had been messaging her since before she left Africa, warning her of what was happening state side to the health care workers returning from the countries where the Ebola crisis had struck. She was tired from a full day of travel, a bone rattling jeep ride to a military transport truck to the tiny airfield and station wagon sized prop plane to the small commercial jet to the last leg of the flight on the jumbo jet. Couldn't they have detained her sooner, so maybe she could have gotten some sleep on a real bed in a climate controlled room instead of letting her haul ass all the way to Newark, New Jersey before stopping her? She stood, waiting for the group to surround her. Two of the armed men carried sticks with loops, the kind they use to capture stray dogs. Did they really think she was going to make a run for it? For God's sake, she was the one who volunteered her services, she wasn't some kind of spy trying to infect the American people! She dropped her duffle bag off her shoulder, but before it could hit the floor one of the people in white wrapped it in plastic. An electric cart, shrouded in plastic and driven by another person in protective gear, stopped next to her.

"Please get in, Dr. Swan. We will be escorting you to the quarantine facility."

"What? I don't have any symptoms, they took my temperature a dozen times since I left the hot zone. I'm fine."

"Sorry Ma'am, new federal guidelines require a 21 day quarantine in an approved facility. No exceptions."

"Fan-fucking-tastic." She couldn't wait to hear Emmett's 'I told you so.' He never understood why she'd give up a week or two of vacation each year to volunteer for Doctors without Borders.

"Babe, what are **you **getting out of it?" he complained before she left. "We could spend an extra week in Cancun instead of you sloggin' around some field hospital."

There was no point in arguing. People weren't listening to reason. It might be safer in quarantine anyway. Em said the nurse who broke her home quarantine got death threats. Shaking her head at the stupidity of people, she got onto the plastic lined seat and was whizzed away.

.

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**-21days-Day 1-**

"I'm sorry sir, there is no other option."

"This is bullshit. I'm an American citizen, you have no right to detain me!"

Edward Cullen was looking forward to a long hot shower and the privacy of a quiet hotel room. This had been his third tour with Doctors without Borders, and while he loved helping people who really benefited from Western medicine, every moment in-country was crowded with people. On past trips he'd gotten used to, even enjoyed, the masses of people, many of whom had walked hours to the hospital, begging to be seen, thanking and praising everyone after being treated.

This time was different, the deadly Ebola crisis made the energy in the place sharper, fear put everyone on edge. Tempers were shorter, the conditions far more difficult. He and the other volunteers were crammed into tents, always too close together waiting in line to wash or bumping elbows in the too small space dedicated to wrapping each other in the sweltering protective gear. The need to separate the truly ill from the possibly ill and from the hopefully healthy had the volunteers stretching their resources like never before. The disease never took a break; the clinic was busy every hour of the day.

His head was crowded with all the patients he'd helped; some survived, but most they could only make a little more comfortable before they died. He didn't think he'd ever get the smell of bleach out of his nostrils, he'd been sprayed, it seemed, every hour of his entire tour. Even the airplane was too much, packed with people and the first world pollution of cologne, perfumes, fabric softener, and booze—a sensory deprivation tank sounded like heaven.

And now these clowns, looking equally threatening and ridiculous in their white and blue suits, treating him like he was some kind of rabid animal instead of letting him rest.

"Mr. Cullen, please. New federal guidelines require a twenty one day quarantine in a federally authorized facility."

Travelers were gathered in clumps, talking and pointing. This was unusual activity, even for JFK, one of the busiest airports in the country. He didn't want to provoke some kind of mass hysteria. This could all be sorted out somewhere privately.

An ambulance was waiting in the parking lot, black government SUVs parked in front and behind the vehicle.

"This isn't necessary, I'm not sick."

"This is the established protocol sir. Please get in."

"Where are we going? Columbia Presbyterian? NYU Medical?" He named the top New York hospitals he could remember off hand as he sat on the gurney.

"No sir. A facility has been established at Fort Monmouth."

"And where the hell is that?"

The doors slammed shut and the vehicle started rolling before the man answered. "New Jersey."

.

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><p><strong>AN: 21 days, one chapter a day. I know, I have some nerve when I still have an unfinished story out there, but this one won't leave me alone. I have a special helper for this story-let's just call her 'Nurse Beta'<strong>


	2. Day 2

**Day Two**

Bella's eyes fluttered open. There were few days in her adult life that had begun without an alarm clock, a phone call or someone shaking her awake. Sleeping until her body felt the need to wake was a forgotten luxury. If it wasn't her service calling her that a patient was being admitted, it was a parent, desperate for advice on how to treat a fever, cough, or diarrhea. She didn't begrudge them their calls; she imagined being a new parent was frightening. She'd seen too many of the things that befell young children. That was the reason she told Emmett she didn't want to try for one of her own. That was the reason she told herself. It was one of the reasons she was with him: besides his being handsome, intelligent and financially successful, he didn't care that she worked odd hours and that they might not see each other for days at a time. He rarely pushed for more. It was an arrangement that worked for both of them.

Looking around her room she couldn't help but feel guilty. By first world standards, the room was spare; a bed, a desk, a small table and a chair. Compared to what she'd left behind, it was incredibly luxurious. Her own shower and toilet, endless hot water, solid walls, a consistently working telephone, a laptop and Wi-Fi. It was true, you didn't appreciate the everyday things until you'd lived without them. She wondered how everyone was getting on back at the clinic. Most of the people who worked there were locals; there was no coming home to some cushy existence. She'd negotiated with her practice to volunteer for the month, but she always left wishing she could have done more.

"Dr. Swan." A woman's voice crackled over the intercom. "You haven't made a lunch selection, and we need to take your temperature and draw blood before you eat."

"Okay. Let me get washed up." Turning to the laptop on the grey metal desk, Bella reviewed the restaurant menus. The lieutenant had explained to her yesterday, that since the facility had been abandoned some years earlier, there was no functioning cafeteria. The upside was that she had her choice of cuisines. She hadn't had any Thai food in ages, Emmett didn't care for it. Chicken pad ginger, samosas and steamed dumplings. To be served in foil and Styrofoam containers, that will become hazardous waste, all because she touched them. There were three emails waiting for her; no surprise, since she sent her new, secured, government issued email address to three people. Her father Charlie, Dr. Jose Lopez, the founding partner at her practice, and Emmett.

Looking at the emails, Bella realized that they really could wait. Even if there was a problem, there was nothing she could do from here. She'd spent so much of her life going full throttle, trying to stretch 24 hours into 48. She rarely had more than a moment to think about the mundane things in her life, like what to have for lunch. The exhausting last few weeks had almost always been life or death situations. Maybe a few weeks just to herself was what she needed. There was always an adjustment period when she returned from a trip. She knew she'd have no patience for the things Emmett would complain about, a late flight, a failed deal or a suit ruined at the cleaner. Her father, besides being worried for her health, would then complain about his neighbor who always let leaves blow onto her parent's lawn or some other minor infraction. It was hard to sympathize with them when she thought of the many people she'd seen buried. She clicked off the laptop. After a shower and yet another set of scrubs, she'd have enough patience to answer her messages.

.

**-21days-Day 2—**

"Can I get a decent burger around here? Bacon, cheddar, horseradish sauce, sautéed onions, fries and a, a salad, ranch dressing."

"Please indicate on the laptop which—"

"Look, lady," He waved his hands towards the speaker, not sure if she could see him, "Just ask one of the big dudes where to get a good burger, and get me one. They'll know."

He paced the room. It was obviously old, the paint institutional green and cream, but it was immaculately clean. Everything had a hint of bleach, his bedding, the metal chair and his scrubs. At least he thought it was the stuff around him; maybe the smell would never leave him. Turning towards the laptop, he checked for a response from his lawyer. Nothing. His mother had forwarded a daily affirmation but that was it. At least Tanya came through. He clicked to open the first of the three messages from her.

_8:44 a.m. This is total bullshit! You're going to miss Irina's wedding and I'll have to go alone like a loser. My whole family is going to be there and I don't have a ring on my finger—that's a hint! They'll think I'm a loser when I show up without a date. This is just great, I told you not to go to fricking Africa._

_9:20 a.m. I just got off the phone with your idiot attorney. He doesn't think a wedding will stand up as 'extraordinary circumstances' especially since it's not you that's getting married. He said it's a federal law. What the hell do you have him for if he can't fix the law?_

_10:02 a.m. Problem solved! Tyler heard me shouting on the phone and asked what he could do to help (he's so sweet) and said he'd take me to Irina's wedding and the rehearsal dinner and brunch the next day! I'm so relieved! Ok, see you when you get out __ oxoxoxo_

Tanya. He thought about her long red hair, long legs, perfect nose and big tits, the first out of a bottle, the last two thanks to the plastic surgery she was gifted by her parents on her sixteenth and eighteenth birthdays. His sister Alice calls her a balloon girl, all shiny on the outside, full of gas on the inside. He knew that, but the outside was fun to play with. Like his addiction to junk food, he knew it wasn't good for him but it felt good on his lips. Maybe three more weeks away from her would be enough to detox her out of his system. Hopefully.

.

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><p><strong>AN: Thanks for the kind response!<strong> In the you never know who's reading fanfic category, a lovely reader who worked for Doctors Without Borders contacted me and has been **extremely** helpful. She told me about a fanfic community link which encourages fanfic communities to donate to this amazing organization. It's called Vital Pact and you can find it at doctorswithoutborders dot org, replace the word dot with a period and remove the spaces. I'm trying to think up an incentive for people to donate, it will come to me.


	3. Day 3

**Day Three**

Dr. Lopez was more than happy about her quarantine.

"Maybe you take some vacation time before you come back."

She hadn't used a land line corded phone in a decade. It was strange, not being able to move more than six feet from the telephone base. "Jose', that's all right. I don't want to be away from the practice that long."

"Bella…"

It wasn't like him to hesitate. When she met with him the first time, he'd offered her the job before she'd had a chance to thank him for the interview. She waited for him to speak.

"A lot of the parents—I have emails, phone calls. Parents are scared. Better you take a few weeks, with pay, til this all calms down. Yes?"

"Sure, Jose'." Bella wasn't sure what to do with this surfeit of time. How often did she say, 'if only I had time,' and now she did. She couldn't go anywhere, but she had her laptop, whatever she wanted to eat, magazines, movies on demand. The fairly comfortable bed. She didn't miss Emmett as much as she thought she would have, even though as of tomorrow this would be the longest time she'd gone without seeing him. She should, with all this time, take the time to digest what that meant, that she wasn't particularly missing the man she'd been living with for the last three years.

.

**-21days-Day 3-**

"Damn it Jasper!" He stopped short, the corded phone tying him to a six foot arc around its' base. "Did you talk to the Civil Libertarians, the media, Dr. Phil, someone has got to have some pull!"

He could hear Jasper sigh into the phone. "Once they uncovered the terrorist cell trying to contact one of the home quarantine people, trying to get the virus to be used as a biological weapon, everything shut down. You are not getting out of there. I spoke with every attorney for every other person this has happened to. This is beyond national _health_, now it's a matter of national _security_. Stay in there and you're a patriot. Leave, and you're a terrorist."

He knew due to the Ebola crisis he'd have to be quarantined when he returned from this trip, but he planned on spending the time in his apartment, doing some painting, catching up on the crap he never had time for. When he left, the deal had been that he would not be able to return to work for 21 days, that he had to monitor his own temperature and if, and only if, he showed any symptoms would his care elevate to some kind of medical facility. This being stuck in a room when there was no reason for it, was going to drive him crazy.

Edward banged his head against the wall. It felt slightly different, now that he buzzed his hair. They refused to give him scissors to trim the bangs that kept flopping in his eyes, but the electric razor was fine. He was tempted to shave his eyebrows off too, just to freak everyone out, but he wasn't sure if they would grow back enough for when he got out. He didn't want to ask his sister to bring him eyeliner to drawn in eyebrows. Tanya emailed some pictures of her last fitting for her bridesmaid's gown, or more specifically, herself in the lingerie she planned to wear under the gown. He could tell it was less to cheer him up, but more to show herself off. Had she always had this need to be the center of attention? If he was honest with himself, he knew. He knew, but he just didn't care. She was a fun diversion from his days as a pediatric oncology nurse. He brought his A game to the hospital every day, telling awful knock-knock jokes, wearing a collection of crazy hats, he even sang that song from Frozen with all the little girls in the unit. When he came home he wanted easy, and Tanya was easy. Real easy, which, he suspected, Tyler would find out when he took her to her sister's wedding. Which he suspected, was why Tyler offered to take her in the first place.

.

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><p><strong>AN<strong>: A short one. This posting every day thing is tougher than it looks. There's more than one MSF reader out there, hello and thanks for all you do! Thanks to everyone who is reading and reviewing, it's nice to see those familiar names. And in case anyone has any doubt, I don't own any of the characters you recognize, or Fort Monmouth.


	4. Day 4

**Day Four**

"Babe, you know what would really make bank? You should write a memoir of all the shit they're putting you through."

"What are you talking about Em?" She hated talking on the landline, she could only stand by the desk or sit on the straight backed plastic chair. She'd been annoyed when Emmett didn't contact her; now that they were talking she was even more annoyed.

"The holding you against your will, the bad food, all the trauma—"

"What trauma? They get me whatever kind of food I want. They're all nice to me, and I'm a pediatrician. What kind of message would I be sending if I ignored the current medical protocol?"

"You could make something up."

"Maybe that works for you Em, but my medical ethics do not allow me to 'make something up' and call it a memoir. The service people are just doing their jobs, it's not their fault and they've been very nice."

"You're too nice, Babe."

Bella could hear papers being flipped in the background before he said goodbye. The memoir idea wasn't bad. She just wanted to watch the last two episodes of "Orange is the New Black" before she started anything new.

**-21days-Day 4-**

Edward thumped his head against the door to the hall. "I am so freaking bored!"

He'd always been a little bit hyper; his mother used to call him 'Taz', for the animated Tasmanian devil. It was one of the reasons he was good with the kids in his care: he had a similar energy level. If he could bounce against the walls he would. He had to settle for banging his head, over and over.

The guard rapped back. "Man, ya know youse can go for a walk in da yard. Din they tell ya dat when youse came in?"

Bouncing in place, arms over his head, Edward shouted, "Ben, you da man! Let's go!"

"Cool ya pits, I gotta check wit da CO."

Ben mumbled into his radio. Edward had lucked out with Ben as his guard. A Staten Island native, he was a regular on the Jersey Shore and knew all the best places to eat. From wings to pizza to subs, Ben had been right on the money.

Edward could hardly wait to see something besides his room. Now he remembered part of the 'welcome speech' was that patients could walk outside as long as they maintained a ten foot space between any other patient, if there were any other patients in the yard at the same time. He'd asked how many other patients were at the facility but he'd been informed that that was secure information. The uptight lieutenant also said they could choose to visit with other patients who were on the same day of quarantine, but only if both parties agreed. When he asked who else was on his day she said, "I can't tell you that."

The short side of the yard was fifty three paces from one end to the other, eighty one lengthwise. Brick buildings formed three sides of the rectangle; the fourth side was a fence. The windows of two buildings were boarded up. The third, the one he was kept in, seemed half occupied if he could make a guess based on the number of windows with shades instead of plywood. He squinted, trying to see through the shades for other people being detained, with no luck.

Most of the enclosure showed its age, but the chain-link fence and padlocked gates looked brand new. It reminded him of a dog park, without the chew toys. He walked, making long strides, then short, then jogged backwards, anything to break up the monotony. At the center four concrete benches surrounded a dry fountain. He examined the green cooper pipes poking out of the concrete, measured the benches with his feet. Edward was on his sixth lap of the path, the brisk air and blowing leaves not deterring him. He'd been issued a green parka; with his hands in his pockets it wasn't too bad. He was willing to stay out as long as they'd let him. Anything, even watching dry brown grass and the federal facility aging around him, was better than hanging out in his cell. Room. Whatever.

He kept an eye on Ben, expecting to be summoned back, but that didn't seem to be an issue. His guard remained by the entrance to the building, sheltered from the wind. The door opened, and Ben nodded to another guard, stepping back to let his ward pass. A woman wearing a beanie and a Government Issue coat, just like Edward's, strode out.

Edward froze, waiting for her to catch up. She stopped, at least twice the required distance from him.

He smiled, raising an arm and waved. "Hey, how are you?"

She stood her ground. "How many days?"

When he didn't answer right away, she said. "I've been here eighteen days. How many for you?"

"Oh," he stepped closer, "I'm on my fourth day."

She shuffled backwards, putting her hand up flat towards him. "Whoa, no closer!"

He held his hands up in the universal sign of surrender, "Sorry, I just wanted to talk…"

Shaking her head, she said, "Look, I'm almost done. I don't want—"

"Hey, you and I know that we're not going to transmit anything by talking a few feet away from each other."

"You know it, I know it, but the dingdongs that came up with this," she waved her hand in a wide circle, "aren't looking for a reason to let anyone out early, and every reason to keep us right here. Sorry pal."

.

.

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><p><strong>AN: He just wants some company! <strong>

**Slightly early post; I need to watch the Walking Dead**


	5. Day 5

**Day Five**

"Ugh!" Bella slammed the lid of the laptop in disgust. She'd reread the first two pages of her memoir; it was more like a medical history. It seemed like such a good idea to pass the time, but she doubted anyone would really be interested in how many injections she gave, how many blood tests, how many cases of dysentery. Her memoir might be of interest to the Center for Disease Control, but that's about it. She wasn't a storyteller, she was a doctor. That just wasn't how her mind worked. She like facts, significant questions and logical answers, not descriptions of sunrises and discussions of feelings.

She didn't think she had anything so extraordinary to write about. Sure she worked hard, but other MSFers had had more dangerous and frightening assignments. She'd been lucky enough to just do medical work. It irked her that Emmett was so put out by her forced quarantine. Compared to what other MSFers had gone through; overzealous revolutionaries, natural disasters, armed thieves—this was nothing.

Looking around at the too familiar room, she remembered something from her first day here.

Pressing the button for the intercom, Bella asked, "Angela, am I allowed to go outside?"

"You're right on time Dr. Swan."

"What does that mean?"

Angela giggled. "About day five most people are over their jet lag, have seen enough movies for the rest of the year, and just want to get a change of scenery. I need to requisition outdoor gear for you, shouldn't take too long."

…

Enjoying the sun on her face, Bella stood by the fountain, head lifted, eyes closed. _Maybe I could request running shoes and…no that would raise my temp and freak out everyone. Just chill and let this thing be over. Maybe I could do-_

"Hey you! What day are you?"

.

**-21 days-Day 5-**

He spotted her the second he was out the door. It wasn't the same woman from the day before, he was sure. She was a little shorter, no beanie, her dark hair in a ponytail, her pale face tipped up to the sun like she'd just come out of hibernation. He asked the standard question.

Her whole head swiveled towards his voice, dark eyes wide open. "What did you ask?"

"How many days have you been in? I'm on day five."

"Me too."

"Yes!" He raised both arms over his head and spun in a tight circle. "Then we can hang out together."

She stared at him as if he were a wild beast as she edged backwards slowly.

"No, really." He tossed his head in the direction of the guards, huddled by the door. "Ben, my guy, says people who came in on the same day can have interactions. We can visit each other's rooms."

"Excuse me?"

"Come on, aren't you just bored to tears?"

"Sir, I—"

"Edward. I'm Edward." He stopped waiting for her to answer, but when she didn't he glided his hand towards her like a game show model. "And you are…"

"Not interested. I believe that rule was put in place to allow people who came here together to visit. You know, husbands and wives, conjugal visits and such."

He spread his arms out wide from his sides. "Not opposed to conjugal visits."

"Have you had a mental health evaluation?" She walked backwards. "I don't think this is appropriate."

"Come on!" He kicked the grass in front of him. "I'm bored. I'm hyper. I stayed out here for three and a half hours yesterday, and no one was a day five."

"This isn't some dating service, Ebola version. We both have to make a request to have visits, right?"

"Yes, it's easy, I asked Ben—"

"I'm not going to request you. I think it's inappropriate. We can both find better things to do."

"Seriously? They blocked all the good websites and I can't sit through another movie. We can make our own fun—come on!"

"Still not interested."

.

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><p><strong>AN: Denied! Poor Edward<strong>

FYI: **MSF** is the acronym for Doctors Without Borders. Why? Because the organization started in 1971 in France as "**Medecins Sans Frontieres**", the idea being to bring medical aid to people who needed it, regardless of nationality, religion, affiliation or border. The first medical team was only 6 people, 2 doctors, 2 nurses and 2 clinicians. I've been reading the Doctors Without Borders US website, it's fascinating. These people are real heroes. If you have someone on your Christmas list who has everything, make a donation in their name. Ok, getting off the soap box now.


	6. Day 6

**Day Six**

She tried setting up a Skype date with Emmett but he texted he was too busy traveling and rubbing elbows with clients. Her mother had finally crafted an email, with such scintillating information as her beautician appointment and what she and 'the girls' (all over 65) had had for lunch at the Olive Garden the day before.

Misjudging her time, Bella did a Pilates workout too close to her morning temp check and her temperature was up one tenth of a degree. The young nurse, with shaking hands, entered Bella's vitals into her tablet. Bella wanted to scream at her, that this was a normal biological fluctuation and was no cause for alarm, but realized that screaming at the poor, frightened girl, would help no one. It was her own fault—now she was stuck inside until they took her temperature again in two hours.

She sat on her bed practicing her yoga breathing, to be sure her blood pressure and pulse would be nice and low. Finally the senior nurse came in, swathed in plastic and goggles, and pronounced her temperature as normal. Bella never imagined having to wait for medical clearance before she was allowed to go for a walk.

The yard was the same, except for the absence of Edward. He was too outgoing for her, really, he was absurd. Did he genuinely believe she would just agree? This wasn't summer camp, she didn't need to get along with the other campers. She'd been told she was too serious, but this man was the other extreme. Emmett, he was a serious man. A serious business man, every decision weighed and measured before moving forward. He understood the need to focus. Even his play had a focus—he golfed, not because he enjoyed the game rather it gave him the chance to network and entertain clients. As a pediatrician, she worked to heal children, not behave like them. Edward, with the goofy grin, joking about conjugal visits when they had just met—really, he was too much.

Why was she even thinking about Edward? They would get out of here and never see each other again. She stepped up her pace. The crisp air was just the thing to clear her mind.

On her sixth circuit, when she found herself counting the boarded up windows on the buildings beyond the fence, she began to reconsider Edward's offer. She still had two weeks to go, and she had to admit, the routine was wearing on her nerves. It might be interesting to discuss the approach the medical team used where Edward volunteered. There might be merit to that sort of interaction. Many hospitals had traveling nurses who visited other locations to see their protocols. This would be in the same vein, trading information about best practices, that's all. Professionals discussing their profession, what could be wrong with that?

**-21days-Day6-**

The queen of selfies had sent him another dozen pictures; making that duck face he found so annoying, sucking her finger—well that one was kind of hot, putting on lipstick—also hot, her shoes, getting dressed, a picture of her with Tyler, a big stupid smirk on his face and his arm around her shoulder. What the...did Tanya really think he wanted a documentary of Tyler taking her to all the wedding functions? The next picture Tanya was blowing him a kiss with her eyes rolled up like Betty Boop while Tyler was clearly looking down her cleavage. What next?

Closing his laptop he called out to Ben, "I gotta take a walk."

Waiting for Ben to get clearance, he wondered why he was still with Tanya. She was fun, but that was about it. He loved fun, but he was craving someone with a little more substance. Really, how clueless did you have to be to send those kinds of pictures to him when he was essentially a prisoner? She didn't have the common sense to think that pictures of her with another man, another man who clearly was interested in being more than her friend, would be disturbing to him? When he got out he would break things off with her. He was twenty eight, time to stop thinking like a kid. His mother's hints about finding _Miss Righ_t instead of _Miss Right Now_ were starting to make sense.

He saw his fellow Day Six across the yard. Fifteen days to go—he needed to get her to talk to him. Maybe approaching her as a fellow medical professional would work? Just like his kids on the ward, not everyone responded to the same approach. She did not care for the class clown, and if he chased her down he'd probably get the same brush off. Instead of approaching her head on, he walked slowly in the same direction she was strolling. She'd have to pass him eventually, and being polite he was sure she'd greet him in some manner. He walked, his hands clasped behind him, patiently enjoying the fall air_. The bait was set_, he thought, _come on little fishy._

Her steps were louder, she was definitely getting closer. They slowed a bit, then, just as he planned…

"Edward, I'm sorry if I was rude to you yesterday. These circumstances are so unusual."

He nodded, glancing towards her but keeping quiet. As his lawyer Jasper, an accomplished negotiator, always said the one who talks first, loses.

"Look, can we start over? I'm Isabella Swan."

He tried not to smile too much as he turned to her, his hand out. "Edward Cullen."

She put her hand in his. It was cold and a little rough, the skin of someone accustomed to washing their hands dozens of times a day, much like his own. He put his other hand on top, sandwiching hers and squeezed gently. She added her free hand and squeezed back. Neither of them let go.

"It's strange." She looked from their clasped hands to his face. "I didn't realize how much I missed touching someone, skin to skin."

He held back the many others things he wanted to say about being skin to skin. "Me too."

.

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><p><strong>AN:<strong> He upped his game. What will they talk about? Thanks to the many readers and reviewers, it's nice to be read.

I love me some unexpected pregnancy fics. I'm currently loving "**Grad Nigh**t" by RobzBeanie and "**Two Blue Lines**" by Payton79


	7. Day 7

**Special Posting info below**

**.**

**Day Seven**

She felt a little foolish, filling out the request form. Instead of ordering food she was ordering companionship. After the few moments holding Edward's hands yesterday, she realized she'd been experiencing a drought of human contact. No wonder there were people you could pay to hug you. It had been a week since she left her assignment, and in light of the crisis, there wasn't a lot of non-medical touching going on. Even the random hookups, which were rare to begin with, were non-existent this trip. No friendly hugs or even the usual kiss to both cheeks. No one wanted to be infected or to infect anyone. The vast majority of MSFers were fine, but why take a chance?

She'd seen Emmett the day before she left. That had been her last hug, and it hadn't been a good one. Emmett still resented that she was, in his words, "throwing away vacation time" to volunteer. Meanwhile, he was leaving for a long golf weekend in Palm Springs, which was why she needed to get a cab to go to the airport. All his little trips added up—she'd only seen him twelve days of the month before she left. He looked at her like she was crazy when she suggested that he come along and volunteer. There were plenty of jobs for non-medical personnel. It had never bothered her before that he had so little interest in this organisation that was so important to her. This wasn't new information, but why was it bothering her so much now? Maybe this place gave her too much time to think.

She was really looking forward to lunch. She and Edward made their plans on their walk yesterday. They would eat in her room, having discovered they both loved the sushi from Kono. She giggled as she filled in the order at 11:00, edamame to start and an ocean roll for her. He wanted three rolls, spicy tuna, eel and Philadelphia. They argued about a Philadelphia roll being real sushi. She pointed out that very little cream cheese was eaten in Japan, and he pointed out that if it was rolled up, it was a roll and that was good enough for him.

She wondered if this was what teenage dating was like, joking and holding hands. She'd hopped right over that activity, straight into the mid-twenties dating scene which generally involved a nice dinner, top shelf alcohol and a trip between the sheets sooner than later. She didn't want anything to distract from her studies so she didn't date until she'd graduated medical school. Not to say she was a virgin until then; that's what the on-call rooms were for. Some quick stress relief, then on with your shift. Which made her think of Edward.

She kind of missed what her friends had gone through; long phone calls, playing mini golf, necking on a parent's couch and waiting ages before they 'did it'. Can you be nostalgic for something you never had? A first date that didn't involve comparing careers and condos? She caught herself. Today was not a date. She'd been clear, even when he gave her those puppy eyes. Not a date.

She felt herself blush. She had to admit there was an attraction. He, jokingly but in every joke is a kernel of truth, gave every indication that he'd be up for some stress relief. She needed to make it clear that she was only interested in someone to talk to. Even if he had a great smile, laughing green eyes, and those hands. They were real man's hands. He had a strong grip, tough skin, scars on his knuckles and short fingernails. In comparison, Emmett's hands were big but soft, nails buffed…she was pretty sure he moisturized and had regular manicures, something she got for herself only if she had an event to attend.

She and Edward had compared MSF placements and realized they'd just missed each other in Haiti. He told the story of how he rigged a basketball hoop out of a loop of scavenged copper pipe and wood, to occupy the healthy children while siblings or parents were being treated. She remembered seeing the rickety set up, kids and doctors playing basketball with a soccer ball whenever they had a break. She smiled to think she and Edward had been so close. What would have happened if she and Edward...

Emmett Emmett Emmett...Emmett was her boyfriend! Shouldn't she be thinking of the man she'd been with for years instead of the man she'd know for days?

Enough! At this rate she was going to raise her temperature and it would all be off. As long as their vitals were fine this morning, it was on. And, she was embarrassed to admit, she really wanted it to be on.

**-21days-Day 7-**

"Yes!" Edward shook his clasped hands over his head like a price fighter, "And the winner, with a perfectly normal temperature is, Edward CULLLLLLLLEN." He said his name like a boxing announcer, then cupped his mouth to make the sound of a crowd cheering.

The nurse shook her head. "Someone's in a good mood."

He answered, "I have a date." He thought, _that came out of nowhere. _It wasn't a date; they were having lunch together. She'd been very clear about the boyfriend, about the importance of sharing medical information. Nothing had sounded less romantic. But then there was that argument about the sushi. She'd smiled, and he could see her holding herself back so she wouldn't laugh out loud. Correction, _Bella_ smiled. She told him to call her what her friends called her. Bella. He could get used to saying it. And to think they'd just missed each other in Haiti in 2010. What would have happened if they'd met back then? Would they have connected? He wanted to think that maybe things would have been completely different, but the reality was he'd met plenty of doctors and nurses and the most that had happened was exchanging email addresses.

After only a few hours together, he felt like there was something between them. He wasn't sure what but he had two weeks left to find out.

Ben knocked on his door, giving him the thumbs up. Edward followed, not touching anything, as Ben led the way down the hall. Not so subtly, Ben also mentioned that there were no surveillance cameras in the rooms. If you showed signs of the virus you would be moved to a medical unit and be watched 24/7, but part of the negotiated patient's rights was that they have as much privacy as possible. And related to privacy, as Ben not so subtly pointed out, every bathroom contained a comfort package with all the necessities. Who did Ben think he was talking to? On the first day Edward had dismantled and examined every bit of the comfort package like an ape in the zoo with a stolen backpack. The government had provided, in addition to a sewing kit, lotions, shampoo and dental floss, a box of tampons and condoms. Three condoms for three weeks. Clearly they didn't mind them having fun, just not too much fun.

Edward was pretty sure he wouldn't have to worry about privacy or using up his three lowly condoms. He really was looking for company, not some desperate hookup. He was twenty eight not eighteen, he could hold on for another two weeks. Of course if he went through with his plan to end things with Tanya, it would be longer than another two weeks. Speaking of Tanya, she hadn't contacted him at all after her over-sharing with the pictures yesterday. He wondered how the rehearsal dinner went. He wondered what happened after the rehearsal dinner. He wondered where Tyler had spent the night. The odd thing was that he was curious about it, but he didn't care. Part of Edward wanted her to hook up with this Tyler jerk so she would then break up with him, saving Edward the chore and the tears.

Bella's room wasn't far, down the hall, through a secure door and around the corner. Ben nodded at the woman stationed by Isabella's room, then with his gloved hand, opened the door for Edward, closing it behind him with a wink.

Edward took a quick look around and couldn't hold back his snarky comment. "Love what you've done with the place." The room was identical to his.

"Thanks." She looked up and down his light green scrubs, identical to the ones she wore. "Can I get the name of your tailor?"

"Sure. Uncle Sam."

* * *

><p><strong>AN<strong>: for the non-United States readers, Uncle Sam has the same initials as the country, U.S. He's sort of a patriotic mascot.

**POSTING SCHEDULE: **I will post Day 8 in 'real' time, about 9:00 EST, Thanksgiving Day, so some of you will experience that rare thing from me, a double post in one day. Day 9 will go back to my evening posting. I didn't do many review replies this time, in the limited time between baking pies I thought you'd prefer the chapter to a review reply


	8. Day 8

**Day 8 (day 7 posted a few hours ago in case you missed it)**

**.**

For some reason the screen Bella used to enter her lunch and dinner order was flashing 'Meal Selected'. At this point, meals were one of the highlights of her day and she was not going to miss out. Her fingers automatically went to pinch her belly fat, which for the moment was practically non-existent. She figured she sweated off five pounds every day she wore that hazmat suit. She could use a little fattening up.

The nasal sounding woman at the other end of the phone laughed. "Dr. Swan, it's Thanksgiving Day. Some fancy restaurant" (she pronounced it rest o rount) "is sending ya'll over a regular feast. You ain't one of those veg-i-tarians, are ya?"

The way she emphasized vegetarian made it sound worse than Ebola.

"Oh no. Turkey will be great." She felt like an idiot. How did she forget it was Thanksgiving Day? Jet lag and exhaustion as excuses would only work for so long. She'd talked to her mother yesterday but she didn't say anything. She wondered what her parents were doing for dinner without her. Her mother wasn't a great cook, but she was devoted to making concentric rings of baby marshmallows over the canned yams baked in the same round casserole dish her grandmother had used. You could always count on canned green beans mixed with canned cream of mushroom soup topped with those crunchy, canned, onion things. Bella realized she was missing the way her mother mixed two different flavored boxes of Stove-Top stuffing together—it wasn't the best food but it was their tradition. It was what she'd eaten every year on Thanksgiving, except of course for the year she and Emmett went to a restaurant with his parents. It had been packed, the servers were overwhelmed, the food underwhelming. Emmett's father had drilled her on her student loans and what her practice was paying her, while his mother got hammered on Wild Turkey over ice. She didn't care to repeat that experience.

Her nurse was in early for vitals. She'd barely left when someone knocked on her door, in that '_shave and a haircut; two bits'_ rhythm. It had to be Edward, but she hadn't requested him yet.

"Come in."

Edward was carrying an express mail box, stamped on the side in bold red letters 'cleared'. "I was just telling Ben that your request must not have gone through." He winked at her. "We made plans to watch the parade, right?"

"Oh yeah. The parade." Bella bobbed her head while Ben rolled his eyes and closed the door.

Cocking her head at Edward, she said, "What parade?"

"Woman, you wound me. The only parade." He took her TV remote and clicked. "The Thanksgiving Day Parade in NYC, of course. It's already started, hurry up!" He pointed to her bed. "Have a seat."

**-21 days—Day 8-**

Alice had come through, big time. Everything he needed was in the box. After giving Ben the story, how he'd watched the parade every year of his life with his sister, and that Bella agreed to substitute this year, they were on their way to the lovely Dr. Swan's room.

He knew Ben knew he was full of it, but he guessed standing around outside a room twelve hours a day was boring enough that Ben would take the slight risk that Edward wasn't wanted in Bella's room. Luckily, she played along. He joined Bella, sitting cross-legged on her bed and picked through the box in his lap.

"First, Froot-Loops or Cap'n Crunch?" He held both boxes of cereal up, but he really wanted the Froot Loops. Luckily she choose the Captain.

"Where are the bowls?"

"Silly Bella…my mom wouldn't let us eat cereal with milk on the couch."

Bella smiled as a giant balloon Snoopy and Woodstock floated across the screen. "I used to watch this when I was a kid. It's been years."

"That's just wrong." He shook his head as a float with some Country music duo started across the screen. "Wait!"

He grabbed the cereal box out of Bella's hand and replaced it with a Nerf gun, loaded with orange foam darts, then grabbed his own, loaded with blue darts. "When you see a singer lip-synching, shoot them. The first one to stick to the screen wins."

"But they all lip-synch for the parade."

"That's what makes it so much fun!" The singer started coughing while his song kept going. Edward aimed and missed.

Bella raised her gun; the foam dart stuck. "I got him!"

She raised her weapon to shoot again, but Edward pushed her hand down. "What are we, savages? You already shot the dude, give him a chance. Here." He handed back her cereal. "Eat up."

Around a mouthful of over-sweetened corn puffs, she asked. "What are we doing?"

"Having fun." He sat back, leaning towards her. "My mother used to set us up with stuff to stay out of her hair while she set the table for Thanksgiving dinner. Me and crystal glasses don't go together."

Bella snorted. "I bet."

He remembered the year he was too sick to do anything else on Thanksgiving. Those silly games got him through a lot. But he wasn't ready to bring up anything sad with Bella, he'd just got her smiling.

When the screen switched to a commercial, Bella hopped up. "I never called my parents for Thanksgiving. I completely forgot it was today."

He sat back as she lowered the volume and called. He looked at the muted screen while she talked, giving the illusion of privacy. He wanted her to say his name, no matter how irrational it was. He wanted to know she was sharing his existence with the people that were important to her. Between 'I miss you' and 'don't burn the turkey' he heard, 'don't worry, I'm having dinner with a friend.' It was enough for him.

.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:<strong> Happy Thanksgiving to all who celebrate, and Happy Regular day, to those who don't.


	9. Day 9

**Day 9**

**.**

Bella closed up Edward's parade paraphernalia box putting it inside the other surprise box that had appeared yesterday.

.

She and Edward were busy stuffing themselves on turkey with brioche dressing, cranberry chutney, yam puree and mélange of wild mushrooms when the intercom squawked.

"Dr. Swan, we have a package."

She eyed Edward, who put his hands up, "Not from me."

She eyed the untouched pumpkin soufflés. Talking at the wall she said, "Can it wait 'til later?"

"Um, not really. It's food."

Even though they were working on their second servings, the tins of food in the room were still three quarters full.

"Why don't you give it to the service people, we have enough."

"No can do ma'am."

Bella shrugged her shoulders. She never would understand the system here. "Bring it in then."

While grateful for being remembered, she thought it would have worked better if the restaurants donating coordinated a little better. They had no place to keep leftovers and once she or Edward touched the food it had to be destroyed. After seeing hunger first hand, watching food go to waste was painful.

Angela wore an extra big grin as she wheeled in the cart with the wide, shallow box. "Special delivery."

The first thing she spotted was the miniature marshmallows.

"Where did this come from?"

"Your dad dropped it off." Angela backed away so Bella could come closer. "I heated it up in the staff oven."

Bella looked up. "Oh my God, is he still here?"

"His security clearance didn't come through yet. Sorry."

Bella knew this, because her parents misunderstood the requirements and had only applied for clearance on Tuesday of this week. It still stung, that her father had driven two hours to drop off Thanksgiving dinner for her and she didn't get to see him.

"He left a card, and said they'll come by next week."

Meanwhile Edward got up and poked through the box, "Hey, is this your mom's famous green bean casserole? Can I have some?"

Bella glanced at his mostly full plate. "Really? Instead of the stuff from the restaurant?"

"Moms cook with love. Of course I want some."

Bella took her plate from the table, and bumped him with her hip. "Not if I get to it first!"

.

Too full, she pushed away from her plate.

Edward stretched his arms over his head. "Ready for some football?"

"I want to call my parents, my dad should be home now."

He thumbed at the door. "Want me to go?"

"No, my dad's not a big talker. I'll only be a minute."

There was laughter in the background when her father answered the phone.

"Dad, you didn't have to drive all that way…"

"Anything for my girl!"

"Thank you very much, I—"

"Bella!" Her mother must have snatched the phone away from her father. She sounded extra happy. Bella guessed she'd started on the eggnog and bourbon early this year.

"Thanks for all the food—"

"Did ya get the card?"

Bella had forgotten that Angela mentioned it, and looked in the box. A white envelope was wedged in the seam. She opened it with her finger and pulled out a card. A photo fell to the floor. Edward was quicker, bending over to grab it. Taken last year at Thanksgiving, Bella and her parents were seated at the table, Emmett standing behind them. Emmett. She was pretty sure this was the first time she'd thought of him all day.

Her mother was still rambling, loudly. She was sure Edward could hear every word. "—I didn't think you had a picture, that's just a copy so you can burn it with everything else when you get out of there, but I figured you were missing us, or missing Emmett at least—"

Her father came back on. "Your mom's a little happy. We're going to come see you next week."

She felt weird when her father hung up. She needed to at least call Emmett. What kind of girlfriend didn't…_wait a second_. She didn't call him, but he didn't call her either. Maybe he sent an email, maybe he was expecting her—

"Bella, I'm going to go call my mom. Up for a walk later?"

She nodded while Edward summoned his guard. Checking her computer there was an email from Emmett, saying he was going to a friend's house for Thanksgiving. She responded, requesting that they set up a time to skype. She'd finished filling the hazardous waste bag with their leftovers and was straightening her bed before her computer pinged that she had a response.

**No laptop, catch you later**

That was it. No miss you, love you, just 'catch you later.'

.

Glancing at the computer screen she noted that Emmett was late. His last email had been the night before.

**Happy Thanksgiving, Skype in the A.M**.

It was after nine a.m. They both were early risers, she'd been expecting him since six thirty. Another email notification pinged. From Emmett.

**Problem my end, Skype tomorrow sure **

She was angry, but did she have a right to be? She'd barely given him a thought the day before. She'd been having a great time with another man. Of all the times Emmett had been on the road, he must have met dozens of women, and he'd remained faithful. Compare that to how she behaved the first time she has the opportunity to spend time with another man. Was that fair of her to be angry with him? Was he angry with her, putting off speaking with her intentionally? She wasn't used to this, her life to this point had been predictable. Deliberate. Boring.

The truth was she didn't realize she was bored until she met Edward.

She tried Emmett's cellphone but it went right to voice-mail. He was probably on another endless conference call. At the moment she didn't have any other options. She'd have to wait another day to speak with him. She hoped by then she'd know what she wanted to say.

**-21 Days Day 9—**

When you work with children, you learn to read unspoken clues. A toddler can't tell you what's going on. A nine year old might have been told to be tough and not give the whole truth. And babies, sometimes they just screamed.

Bella's posture changed when she looked at the photo. Something was up with the boyfriend, he could tell by her body language. He expected her to explain, even though it was fairly obvious, who was who in the photo. She was acting guilty. He, Edward, was making her feel guilty.

And he liked it. If she didn't care, she would have showed him the picture, made some comment about the where and when it was taken, but instead she shut down. He should have felt bad that he was messing up her relationship, but the jerk should have been the one delivering a meal to his girlfriend, not her dad. Where were the flowers, candies, favorite books from him? If the dude didn't want anyone going after his girl, he shouldn't make it so easy. They'd been here nine days, and nothing from the loser. Come to think of it, he'd heard nothing from Tanya in a few days, but he didn't care. Which was the point, a guy who didn't care, didn't go out of his way for his woman. He needed to get Bella to understand this, without making himself look like the bad guy.

First things first, he'd take her out for a walk. Second, make her laugh. Third, listen to her. Listen to what she says and, as important, listen to what she doesn't say.

.

.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:<strong> Their restaurant meal came directly from the Thanksgiving menu at one of my favorite special occasion places, Restaurant Nicholas. Really pricey, really good. And no, I didn't eat there, I cooked for TDay.

Thanks to all the reviews, follows and favs. It never gets old and it makes me smile. SOrry about the lack of reply reviews, this daily posting during the holiday is harder than I thought.

What I'm reading when I should be writing: **Gothic** by author-self-insert


	10. Day 10

**Day 10**

**.**

She woke up smiling, remembering the awful joke Edward told her, so awful it was funny. Something about a zombie woman offering to give a man head, then removing her head and giving it to him. She could never tell a joke, she'd forget the right phrasing or emphasize the wrong word, then she'd try to explain it, but Edward, Edward was—

"Dr. Swan, time for your vitals."

"Come in." She was long over worrying about getting ready for the staff. They wouldn't care if she were butt naked, as long as her temperature didn't go up. She sat quietly while they took her temp, blood pressure and a blood draw. She was beginning to feel like a pincushion.

Then the guilt hit. She had a skype date planned with Emmett in five minutes. Obviously he wouldn't care that she had morning breath, but she needed to run a brush through her hair before he saw her. She wasn't looking forward to talking to him.

Opening her computer with a minute to spare, she sat, trying to think of what to say. She did the same thing day after day, the only new thing was Edward and it felt wrong bringing him up to Emmett. There was no reason to, they hadn't done anything wrong. Just as she wasn't jealous when Emmett mentioned a new professional contact, he shouldn't be jealous of what she had with Edward.

She'd googled the company where he'd closed his latest big contract, the Hale Group. She was a little surprised at the beautiful CFO that Emmett had been working with, Rosalie Hale. Bella had expected a much older woman. This wasn't news, he had plenty of female clients, and she'd never been jealous before. Of course before, she didn't have time to sit around and try to analyze his actions. When he said he was taking a three day business trip, she assumed that's what it was. When she found, just coincidentally, that the golf outing for Hale Group was a one day event, not three days as he'd told her, she just assumed he was tacking on travel time and additional meetings, as he'd done ion the past. Watching the terrible daytime talk shows, with sisters accusing sisters of sleeping with each other's men, paternity tests with six possible fathers, and women throwing chairs while grabbing at each other's hair was actually rotting her brain. She needed to stop worrying about herself and Emmett. They were solid.

And he was late. The screen said 8:06 when he finally called. She clicked to open the screen.

"Hi Em." She thought he looked a little disheveled, generally his hair was molded with product before he left to go anywhere. His face was so close to the screen she couldn't even see what he was wearing.

"Sorry I'm late." He smiled, all his dimples showing. "Kind of had a rough night."

"Are you feeling all right? Any symptoms?"

He laughed. "Shouldn't I be asking you that?"

"True. I am currently in homeostasis."

"That's a good thing right?"

"Yes, Emmett, that's a good thing." He was annoying her. Edward would have understood.

"Babe, yeah, I gotta get going, meeting, you know."

"A meeting? On the weekend?"

"We're meeting at the club. 9:00 tee time."

Another common occurrence. Emmett made many contacts at the club, inviting clients to golf with him. Nothing unusual there, but today it irritated her.

"You're watering the plants?" She had one jade tree that was very fussy.

"Of course. " His eyes shifted to the side, looking at something off the screen. "I'll text you later."

"Ok. Love you." She said it, though at the moment she wasn't exactly feeling it.

"Ah huh." And then he was gone.

As he signed off he sat back. He was wearing a rumpled shirt and behind him was a yellow wall. There were no yellow rooms in their house.

.

.

**-21days-Day 10-**

As he opened his eyes he half expected Bella to be there. Yesterday they'd had lunch and talked, went for a walk, talked some more, had dinner, then talked even more. Bella. _Bella_. Bell-la. He enjoyed how her name felt on his tongue. He closed his eyes, remembering their time together yesterday.

.

After Ben had closed the door to Bella's room, Edward extended his hand a few inches. She put her hand in his like they were ten year olds. It had become their thing, holding hands. There was a sweetness to it he'd never experienced. He'd been in a few, brief relationships, dating a number of woman short term, but he never felt anything like this. Something about her smile was more appealing to him, more intriguing, than the crazy outfits Tanya would wear to get his attention. And they talked, never running out of topics. She was someone he could talk to for a lifetime, and never grow bored.

.

Rolling onto his front, he put some enjoyable pressure onto his morning wood. Thinking of her was not going to help that situation, and the medics were going to be in any time for his morning vitals. But he couldn't help himself. She was beautiful, smart as a whip, generous—this year had been her fourth trip volunteering. Some people he knew went once, took tons of photos with the natives, and then lived off that glory for years. Not Bella. She had a big heart. Even in those scrubs she was pretty, and thinking of her out of those scrubs—not helping the situation. He shifted his hips from side to side, thinking about her plump lower lip and what he'd like to do to it.

"Mr. Cullen, we need to take your vitals."

Feeling as if his mother had caught him jacking off in his room, he sat up, bunching the sheets over his lap. "Uh, just a minute." He scrambled to the bathroom, wasting the start of a really good fantasy.

He took a shower while waiting for their results. Ben yelled so he could hear him through the door. "You're both good Ed. She'll be here in ten."

He smiled at his feet, hands on his hips. It was so stupid, knowing that she was on his way made him happy, happier than he could ever imagine being with Tanya or any of the other girls he dated. It was like something was fluttering in his chest, tickling up to his face and coming out as a big grin. He looked forward to spending another day with her, talking, walking, watching movies. _But she has a live in boyfriend, _his inner voice reminded him, _she lives in another state. She's bored, otherwise she'd want nothing to do with you._

Ignoring his inner voice had gotten him in trouble before, but he shut it down anyway. He'd take whatever Bella wanted to give.

She was escorted in, Ben giving Edward the thumbs up. As soon as the door closed, Edward put his hand out for their customary hand holding, but she wrapped her arms around herself.

"Would you mind…" she hesitated, "Giving me a hug?"

"I'm a great hugger. World class, really." He wrapped himself around her and held on, swaying slightly, until she sighed. He could feel her chest inflating and deflating in his arms.

"Ok, thanks, thanks." She crossed to his neatly made bed and sat, taking off her shoes and sitting cross-legged at the end.

"Anytime." He'd learned she wasn't fond of direct questions, so he took a seat, mimicking her pose.

"I…" She looked at the window across the room as she spoke. "Have you had any visitors?"

"No."

"Me neither. I told my parents I didn't want them to come, it's a long trip, and they have some health issues."

He nodded, "Same here."

"But they're coming anyway, next week." She shrugged her shoulders. "But you'd think, a young, healthy person, someone who was a longtime friend…"

In her pause he heard the name Emmett.

"You'd think they'd at least make an attempt."

He hmm'd. He agreed with Bella, although he had no illusion that the self-centered Tanya even gave a thought about visiting him. There were protocols to be followed, no touching obviously, but it had been explained that friends and family members, after health and security clearance, could visit. Most importantly, for Tanya, there was nothing in it for her.

"We're almost half done." He joined her on his bed. "Eleven more days, then we can see whoever we want to."

She nodded, but didn't speak. He knew he had to pull out the big guns. "My room, my movie. After lunch we're watching 'Mouse Hunt'."

"Never heard of it."

"Stick with me kid." He wagged his eyebrows and mimed smoking a cigar. "I'll show you what you've been missing."

.

He'd never enjoyed that movie as much. Bella laughed until tears were rolling down her face. At some point she scooted closer to him until they were side by side. His arm, without his permission, went around her. She was still giggling as the credits rolled.

"You were right. That's just what I needed, something utterly insane."

"You're welcome." He gave her a side hug. She allowed it for a moment, then started to get up.

"If you think that's funny, you should have seen my parents attempting to skype. They had their side on mute, so they didn't think I could see them. Mom started shaking the computer, then looked behind the screen like I was in there." Bella straightened her scrubs. "My cousin will be at their house in fifteen minutes to help them out."

"Tell your mom I really liked the pie."

She nodded, looking everywhere but at him. He alerted Ben that she needed to leave. A few moments later her person tapped at the door.

"Dr. Swan, ready to go?"

Bella put her hand out to shake, which Edward took but pulled her to him. He squeezed gently, both arms around her. "I don't want you to go into Cullen hug withdrawal. I mean, that's worse than Ebola."

"Really?" She swayed with him. "Not too proud of yourself there."

"Just stating the facts. Your place tomorrow?"

She nodded, then pulled away.

When he was alone he decided to Skype Jasper and Alice. He had always preferred a quick text to the whole skyping thing, but the monotony made him crave seeing something beyond the facility. It took a few minutes for his brother-in-law to respond. Jasper clicked on, pulling a tee shirt over his head as he spoke.

"S'up Ed? I haven't spoken to you this much in the last year."

"Why hasn't anyone come to visit me?"

"What are you lonely? Just a second, _Allie_." Jasper had closed down his camera while yelling for his wife. When the video came back his sister was sitting on Jasper's Lap.

"Hi big brother." She was smiling wide, that expression on her face the same one she used to have while waiting for their mother to finish scooping ice cream. "We wanted to wait to tell you til you got out but, WE'RE PREGNANT!"

He was shocked, watching them kiss in front of him. That explained his sister's vague comments during their last few conversations. He nodded, feeling happy for them, but missing the ability to give her a hug and Jasper a slap on the back. "Congratulations you guys."

And she was off. He sat back as his sister described rapid fire every moment of nausea, every doctor's appointment, and seven possible themes for the nursery. He'd sort of tuned her out until she mentioned needing a pediatrician.

He put up a hand to slow her down. "I met a great pediatrician, in here."

"You met Dr. Swan?"

He sat back, shaking his head. "How did you know, how did you know her name?"

"Silly Edward, there are blogs about everyone in quarantine, when they went in, when they're due out."

He shook his head at his own stupidity. He could have known she was on the same day as him last week. He decided to do something he might regret, but once it was out, he wasn't sorry.

"Allie, there's a guy I want you to find out about. Emmett McCarthy."

.

* * *

><p><strong>AN<strong>: No guarantee future chapters will be this long, I just write until they stop talking to me. Regarding my other, sad little unfinished story, "Illumination". After '21 days' is put to bed, I will finish "Illumination", promise.


	11. Day 11

**DAY 11**

**.**

She hated feeling this doubt eating at her. Emmett had cancelled their skype session this morning, again; he was traveling. Again. How was this any different to how they'd lived before? He'd go away, sometimes catching her in the evening before he went to dinner, or in the morning after she ran, or not at all for a day or two. It was all very cordial each understanding how demanding each other's career could be. Was it that she just had too much time on her hands to suddenly consider every little thing he did? She never wanted to be the nagging girlfriend, she thought they were very modern, too evolved for petty bickering. No matter how she tried to get past it, that yellow room was still bothering her. She wanted to ask him about it. Maybe he was painting, and it was going to be a surprise? That could explain why he was so unkempt when she saw him last. _He must be trying to do something nice_, she almost convinced herself. But it would be very unlike Emmett to paint a room, he didn't like to get his hands dirty. She was going to drive herself crazy. During her talk with her parents last night, her mother, still not entirely convinced that Bella wasn't contagious through the computer, Renee asked the only thing she ever really cared about.

"Did Emmett propose yet?"

Her mother could never keep a secret. Emmett had had 'the talk' with her father last year—last year! And Renee called her almost immediately to spill the beans. It wasn't that she felt she needed a man to be complete, or that she needed a ring for a commitment, but if he had already spoken with her father and got his blessing, (another thing she didn't need; she'd decide if she would marry someone independent of her parent's opinion) what was he waiting for? While Bella didn't have the burning need to be wed that her mother seemed to, it still was aggravating to think he'd been thinking about marriage, but didn't discuss it with her, hadn't made another move. She knew he had plenty of money stashed away, so it wasn't a matter of buying a ring, which made her go to the only logical place—he'd changed his mind. Or, or…how many alternatives were there?

There wasn't anyone to talk to about it, her friends all had jobs during the day. She could never handle a rambling phone call about personal business during work hours, so she wouldn't inflict that on any of her friends. Maybe she could bounce it off Edward? He was a neutral party, right? Then again, he wasn't married or engaged either.

No. It was too embarrassing to discuss. She had graduated high school at sixteen as valedictorian, finished her undergrad in three years, and graduated with highest honors from medical school and received the Pediatric Scholar award. From the time her preschool teacher praised her for being the only reader in her class, to her perfect report card to her perfect SAT's, being smart was her thing. She wasn't the pretty girl, the popular girl, the athletic girl in school. Ask anyone, Bella Swan was the smart girl.

And Emmett was making her feel stupid. Had she been wrong about him all along or was his behavior a recent development? Was she overreacting, knowing that she was feeling something for Edward, and therefore projecting her guilt onto Emmett, and misreading his, probably, normal responses? They'd never been that cozy couple, always touching and kissing in public. One of his buddies had praised her, saying he wished his girlfriend would give him as much space. Was the space between them a sign of deep trust or was it lack of emotion? The one area she'd never devoted much time to was the art of relationships. Emmett was only the third man she'd dated, not counting the fumbles in the call room which she and her partner in lust decided to pretend never happened. Maybe what she had with Emmett was less of a relationship and more a mutually convenient arrangement. It had worked so far, but suddenly it felt so wrong.

She stared at the tile ceiling, wishing she wasn't so confused by her feelings for one man and her lack of feelings for another. _That wasn't true_, she corrected herself. She had plenty of feelings for Emmett at the moment, primarily anger and distrust.

She was relieved by the distraction of the blood draw, the first time in her life that she was happy someone was sticking her with a needle.

**-21days-11-**

**.**

"Benster, so what do you do when you're not watching over the greatest threat to humanity?"

Ben chuckled. "What makes you think I ever stop watching?"

Edward leaned against his open doorway, which was allowed if no one else was walking through the corridor. He couldn't wait to see Bella. He noticed Ben smile while looking down the hall. He was pretty sure Ben had it as bad for Bella's guard as he had it for Bella. At least Ben could ask Angela out on a real date, instead of sitting in each other's rooms, watching old movies. Although that last movie had been pretty great, watching with his arm around the good Doctor Swan. He could get used to that.

The ladies arrived, one in scrubs, one in plastic. Cordial nods all around, then at last Bella was in his room, the door closed.

"What's up, Puddin' Cup?" He pulled her in for a hug. Edward liked the feel of her in his arms, beyond the fact that he was touching another human being, something he'd missed badly his first few days here. It wouldn't have been the same with Ben, or that female guard Ben had been flirting with. It was her, Bella, she felt right in his arms. She stepped back a little, looking him up and down.

"You're in a good mood."

"I'm going to be an Uncle!"

"Wow!" then she was hugging him, the first time she'd initiated it.

He lifted her and spun her around, but her foot knocked into the chair. He set her down but didn't loosen his grip. "Are you okay?"

"Fine, fine. That's great news!" Her eyes were shining, level with his only inches away. He never wanted to kiss someone so much before. He could feel her breasts pressing against his chest, his hands had slipped down unconsciously to the curve of her hips. He needed to move as he felt the sudden trill of desire ripple up his cock. She did not need to feel that. He stepped back.

"Yeah, it's great." He ran his hand through the bristly fuzz on his scalp as he turned away from her towards the bed. "So my sister won't be visiting. I can't blame them." He sat quickly pulling the pillow into his lap, hoping the move looked smoother than it felt. "I'm going to be an awesome uncle."

"World class, no doubt." She took her spot at the end of the bed.

"Do you want kids?"

Her response was odd, she blinked a few times then looked away.

He leaned towards her. "Sorry, was that out of line? You know me, no filter. Sorry."

She waved her hand at him. "It's not you. I've just been thinking too much. About my future. I never had the luxury of so much time to think about me, you know?"

"So what have you been thinking?"

"You don't want to know."

"I do." He wanted to scoot over and put his arm around her, but that would not help the situation in his lap, and she was giving off a 'don't touch me' vibe. He sat back, pillow still firmly in place. "I got days and days to talk about it. Fess up, Bella."

"I never felt more like a girl than I do right now."

"And that's a bad thing? Cause you are definitely a girl." He gave an exaggerated perusal of her, from her stocking feet to her pony-tailed hair. "Yep, all girl."

"I didn't mean…" She smirked at him. "I didn't feel like a stupid teenager when I was a teenager, but now…"

He rolled his hand, signaling for her to continue.

"Emmett asked my father's permission to marry me last year. And that's it."

He couldn't help but feel a stab of disappointment at this news. He looked at her left hand. There wasn't even a faint impression of a ring, but of course it might have faded since many people in their field didn't wear rings on their fingers when working. Maybe she wore it on a chain as a necklace under her scrubs?

She blew out a long breath and crossed her arms. "He never asked me."

"He's an idiot."

"Well, I—"

"No, no! He's an idiot."

"Look, I don't want to talk about this, I shouldn't have brought it up—"

"He's buying time."

She looked up at him, her head tilted.

"Guys like to stake their claim—you know, like calling shot gun so you can ride in the front seat. He asked your dad to buy time, I'm guessing your mom or someone was hassling him, so he bought some time so he can keep looking."

"I don't think that Emmett is—"

"If Emmett's a guy, that's what he's doing. My brother-in-law said he couldn't wait to get a ring on Alice's finger, make sure everyone knew she was taken. He was dating another girl for a couple years, but broke it off when he met Alice. He knew."

"What about you? How long have you been dating that girl?"

"I don't even know. I don't care, that's the point. If she were to walk away I'd say 'Have a nice life'. I'm killing time with her. I got no intention of ever putting a ring on it."

"Does she know that?"

"I don't know."

"So you're no better."

"Not true. I don't live with her, and I sure as hell didn't talk to her father about her."

Bella pushed up from the bed, dragging the blanket as she stood. "I'm going to go back to my room."

"Don't go—please. We'll talk about something else."

"This." She pointed to herself and back to him, "Was supposed to be a professional arrangement, two colleagues exchanging ideas. I made a mistake—"

"No, not a mistake." He stood, blocking her way. He wanted to pull her to him, but he could tell it wouldn't be welcome.

"My personal problems…I have to figure things out. And I shouldn't be sitting in another man's bedroom while I do." She hit the intercom button. "Angela, I need to go back to my room."

.

.

* * *

><p>AN: I did label this angst, for those expecting them to jump straight to a HEA. I wrote the first draft of this while reading <strong>Pudding Cup<strong> by **OhGeeFantasy **, and that nickname just slipped out. Thanks for the many lovely reviews. Someone please remind me to never post a fic that updates daily over a long holiday weekend again. I **will** do it, but it's driving me zonkers.


	12. Day 12

**Day 12**

**.**

A line from her mother's favorite movie, _My Fair Lady, _was running through her head. _ 'I've grown accustomed to her face,' _or in Bella's case, his face. He was skinny, just this side of gaunt, but that was no surprise. A few weeks in the heat and in the sweltering anti-contamination suits made everyone sweat buckets. Dehydration was always an issue and everyone came home pounds thinner. His self-inflicted haircut was awful, an inch of reddish brown hair in some spots, down to the skin in others. His eyebrows seemed to lead a life of their own, the perfect accent marks for his bright green eyes. But it was his smile and his habit of running his big hand up the back of his neck when he laughed that she missed the most. He was always ready with a joke or outrageous commentary on anything, their food, their bunks, his bawdy descriptions of what he thought Ben and Angela were doing while they waited outside their rooms for hours on end. When Edward said-

Why was she thinking about Edward? She hadn't been face to face with her boyfriend in over a month! Shouldn't she be longing for him? The last time they skyped he appeared a little too well fed. His hair was trimmed neatly every three weeks, a habit she'd admired in the past, but now she found it a touch…foppish? Was that a word? Somehow Emmett with his buffed nails and tailored suits seemed far less manly compared to—Ugh, did every thought of hers lead back to Edward? She barely knew him—was it really only a week? It seemed like years. She was so comfortable talking to him, since the first time they had lunch, and then dinner, together. She'd gone from not knowing he existed to spending ten or twelve hours with him each day. She didn't want to leave him yesterday, but she had to. What he'd said about Emmett was horrible. She couldn't stand for it, this was her boyfriend he was disrespecting. She left and almost immediately regretted it. She had such a strong reaction, she could now admit, because she believed he was absolutely right.

She needed to give Emmett a chance to explain. There had to be an explanation, right? She sent him an email at 5 a.m., telling him she urgently needed to skype with him today. At 7:32 a.m. he'd responded with, "OK, later."

That was it. Why didn't he drag out his laptop and connect with her right then? It was obvious that she was awake. And he was so vague, like he couldn't bother writing more than two words, like she was a pesky fly, not his girlfriend.

Girlfriend. It hurt to say the word. She was scarcely a girl anymore, and as Edward had pointed out, Emmett had not staked his claim for anything further. But as Emmett's _girlfriend_, shouldn't he have responded more quickly, or at least with a little more concern? She could probably count on one hand the number of times she'd used the word urgent in their relationship. She wasn't a silly girl that cried wolf over every little thing. So when someone who is as even keeled, as intelligent, as stable as she is uses the word "urgent", shouldn't that garner some action? Some explanation?

She wanted to simultaneously apologize and yell at Edward. And hug him. The hugging —she'd like to think it was because she hadn't hugged anyone like that in weeks, but the truth was she'd never had a hug like that. Like he was the missing puzzle piece, her phantom other half finally found. As if there was no reason for them to ever break apart since that's the way they were meant to be.

Logically, that's not how things went in life. You meet someone, you spend time learning about each other, you develop affection which, if you're lucky turns into more. But what if that _more_, the _more_ you've been carefully cultivating for over three years, what if that _more_ pales in comparison to the _**more**_ that happened in a few days in a lousy government facility, without fancy dates, tropical vacations or expensive cars?

"ARRRGHH!" Bella pounded her fists against the table, prompting an immediate response.

"Dr. Swan?" Angela bolted in, followed by two medics. "What's wrong?"

"I'm sorry." Bella waved her hands in front of herself, indicating that she was fine. "I'm having some relationship issues. I'm frustrated."

The medics left the room, but Angela hung back. "What Edward do now?"

"Edward? No, I'm not in a relationship with Edward."

"Could've fooled me." Angela crossed her arms, but didn't say anything else.

"My boyfriend of three years…something's off. And he won't call me back to discuss it."

"Um hm."

"What does that mean? Um hm?"

Angela adjusted her hat. "When your man can't be reached, and don't have a good reason why he can't be reached…he ain't your man no more."

"But he said…"

"Dr. Swan, my gran used to say, don't mind what a man says, mind what they do."

"But I've been living with him for three years. Shouldn't I give him a chance to explain himself before I end it?"

At that moment Bella realized she was going to end it. She couldn't imagine what Emmett could possibly say at this point to change her mind. But wasn't it cold to break up over the phone? She should really wait until she could talk to him, face to face and look into his eyes. It was possible that she was jumping to the wrong conclusion based on the way he was behaving, but that was a sign in itself. Even if everything he said was true, that he'd spent the night at Mike's house and that he was super busy and couldn't contact her, would she want to continue seeing him? Living with him? She needed to be completely honest with herself, completely sure that she was ending things because their relationship wasn't right, not because she was anxious to explore something with Edward. That wasn't the way she was raised, which brought up another issue. Her parents loved Emmett. If she was going to end things, she had to do it right, so she could truthfully tell her parents she gave him every chance to redeem himself, and that she wasn't making a rash decision.

Angela turned to go back out to the hall, but looked over her shoulder before she shut the door. "I don't know what kind of man you got, out-shines that Edward."

There was no comparison. If Emmett was a birthday candle, Edward was a lighthouse beacon.

.

.

**-21days-Day12-**

**.**

"Do you want to go outside?"

Edward whipped his head towards Ben as he paced. "No."

"You didn't eat your lunch."

The white Styrofoam wings of the container from Buena Sera, one of his new favorite restaurants, and the chicken marsala within, now cold and congealed, mocked him. He'd ordered it for Bella to try, but she refused to see him today. Refused. When she didn't show up, at first he was frightened that her temperature had gone up. Ben had checked, unofficially,with Angela, who'd informed him that Dr. Swan had not requested visitation that day. Then he was angry. Angry with himself. He'd been an ass. Everything he'd said was true, he had no doubt, but who wants it rubbed in their face? What he'd been feeling for Bella—had it been artificially heightened by their exceptional circumstances? Yes, he could admit, there was that extra element of comradery, of a deeper understanding than two random people off the streets could ever have. But there was more, and he felt like she could feel it too. But he'd stomped all over a guy he'd never met, a guy that she had to have some feelings for, or else she wouldn't be living with him. He killed whatever was starting between them. He was just going to stay in this room until it was time for him to go, and then, well, he'd never—

"Hey Ed, you know anyone in the facility can look up the email of anyone else in the facility. There's a directory."

"Ben, I think I love you."

With renewed purpose, he sat at his laptop and found patient listings. Since his Government Issue email had his initials and date of admittance, he assumed Bella's would be similar. Sure enough, there was only one other address using that date. The problem: what to write. He was so much better in person. What would Alice say? She'd probably suggest groveling followed by jewelry- at least that seemed to be how Jasper kept himself out of the dog house. Speak of the devil, his laptop pinged, Alice sent him an email.

His little sister had spent a number of years working as a social media expert for a private investigator. It amazed him when Alice told him stories, the names changed to protect the usually not innocent people she investigated. How easily strangers would accept her friend requests, leave public incriminating evidence and otherwise make her job much easier than it should have been. When he asked her to look into Emmett McCarthy, he suspected she'd turn up something, but this was awful.

Picture after picture of Emmett with pretty young women, lots of different women, at business events, at bars, at casinos, in bathing suits. With Miss Reno 2014, her in a tiny bikini and sash, him with his tongue down her throat. He didn't seem to discriminate, many sizes, races and ages of women were represented. He altered the spelling of his name, but Alice still had the facial recognition software she'd used professionally, and that could see beyond his creative spelling, and found him where pictures were posted by other people. If there was any doubt that this was the same man, there were several pictures of Bella with his arm around her, credited to his properly spelled name, all at professional functions.

So that's his act, Edward thought, when he needs to look professional he appears with the unimpeachable girlfriend, a respected pediatrician and humanitarian. Now that he had the evidence, he could easily forward it to Bella but…he couldn't. He didn't want to embarrass her, make her feel like she'd been taken. He needed to be a little more subtle. Of course, there'd be no point to it at all if she wasn't talking to him. So first, the kiss up email to get himself back in her good graces. Which he planned to send to his sister first, to make sure he wasn't making things worse. She'd schooled him on the phone.

"Edward, don't you know that I can trash Jasper all day long, but if anyone else trashes Jasper, I'll knock'em out. Bella's a big girl. She needs to come to her own conclusions. You can't force her."

He began to write.

.

.

* * *

><p><strong>AN<strong>: Progress, right? So in this electronic age, is breaking up with someone by text, email or Instagram okay, or does it have to be face to face? I'm old school.

A guest reviewer pointed out, correctly, that in the story Bella never gives Edward Emmett's last name. What I am giving you here are the highlights of their day. If this was all they talked about in the ten or twelve hours they were together, that would be very sad. So for eagle eyed readers, 'off camera' Bella and Edward exchanged the usual questions and answers, Where do you work, go to school, live, vacation, hobbies, anyone special in your life, where do they work etc.


	13. Day 13

**Day 13**

**.**

Another day, another weak excuse from Emmett. He claimed an emergency through an email—couldn't even bother to make a phone call! She wanted to explain to him what an emergency was—running out of PRBC's when a patient was bleeding out. Orphaned children, the same age as first graders in this country, taking care of orphaned babies. Medical supplies stolen to be sold on the black market, leaving the clinics cleaned out. Hundreds of children and only enough vaccinations for half of them. Those were emergencies!

She was so worked up, pacing the few feet across the room, staring at her laptop, waiting for Emmett's face to finally appear. The ping sounded and she looked over at the email.

The subject line was: **SORRY-SORRY-SORRY PLEASE BE MY FRIEND AGAIN**

_Oh, if this was Emmett putting off their session again_—wait—she didn't recognize the email address.

EAC111714, similar to hers, IMS111714—it had to be Edward.

She almost didn't want to answer it. The way Emmett had been acting, it was clear something was very wrong. She didn't think Edward would gloat, but…

Emmett was still a no-show. Could it be he was planning some grand gesture, and was currently jumping through the hoops and filling out the paperwork so he could visit her?

She doubted it. She clicked on the email from Edward.

**Bella**

**I'm sorry I acted like a jerk. I don't know your boyfriend, I don't know what's happening in your life beyond this place, and I shouldn't have been so pushy. That's just me, I'm very protective of the people I care about. Please see me again. I miss you. I have no one to help me mock bad movies, and eating lunch and dinner alone sucks.**

**Please forgive my sorry ass**

**Edward**

She couldn't help but smile, picturing his face as he talked back to the characters on the TV whenever he thought they were acting stupid. She'd made up her mind to forgive him before the email, but this clinched the deal. Not wanting to give in too easily, she considered what she would write in response when the Skype notification came up.

Emmett. Now that he was finally responding, she barely knew what to say. Demand answers? Accuse him of hiding something? Break things off immediately? To be fair, in honor of their three year relationship she needed to listen to what he had to say, but unless he had an incredibly good answer, a walking on water, parting the Red Sea kind of reason, she didn't see how she could continue like this. It would be better to do this in person, but…

She answered. Opening the screen he looked like the Emmett she'd known all these years, perfectly groomed, coordinated shirt, tie and handkerchief. She could see that he was in their dining room, the walls the familiar green and her favorite Ansel Adams print hung behind his head. His big smile, the one she'd always loved, today seemed insincere. Compared to Edward, whose open face and laughter made her grin right back at him, today Emmett's smile made her leery. His, "Hey Babe!" sounded too practiced.

"Hi Emmett." She waited for him to start apologizing, and he did, in his way, which meant blaming everyone but himself for his failing.

"Yeah, it's been crazy out here in the world, Mike is working my tail off, last minute meetings, kissing client's asses, but you know me, working 24/7…"

"Answer me one question Emmett. Where did you skype me from the other day?"

His eyes darted back and forth, "What? What are you talking about?"

"When we skyped, the day after Thanksgiving, you were in a room with yellow walls. None of our rooms are yellow. Your office is beige. Where were you?"

"Ohhhh. Oh that." He adjusted the knot of his tie. "You caught me. After dinner I went out with Mike and a client, had a little too much to drink so we cabbed it to his house. That was his guest room."

Bella had been to Mike's house, but never to the bedrooms. It was possible that he had a yellow guest room. And while Emmett wasn't a drunk, occasionally he did overdo it. That answered the question of the yellow wall. She wasn't convinced, but now that Edward had pointed out the non-engaged status of their relationship, Bella had to ask.

"Em, where do you see us in five years?"

"Whoa, what brought this on? Are they giving you tranks in there or something?"

"I've had a lot of time to think Emmett. And it seems like we're not moving."

"I thought your liked our place?"

"That's not what I meant."

"No offense babe, but when you said this was urgent that I talk to you, I thought it would be—"

"About that." Her calm was disappearing. "I send you an urgent message that I have to talk to you, an URGENT MESSAGE and you don't bother getting back to me for over a day? How do you think that makes me feel?"

"Babe, I was busy—"

"Too busy for a two minute phone call, to see what was going on with your _girlfriend_?"

"Bella, you're really, I don't know. Are you on something right now? Cause you never minded before when I was busy."

"Well I mind. I mind not being a priority for you. Tell me, Emmett. Are you buying time?"

"I don't know what brought this on." She could see his face getting red, and he swallowed. "Maybe you're getting that thing, the jungle fever."

"Answer the question Emmett. Are you staying with me until you find someone else you like better? You talked to my father a year ago. What's going on?"

"What? How did you know? That was supposed to be a surprise. I wanted to do a big thing, uh, that's why I—"

"Really? It takes you a year to figure out this 'big thing'? If that's the case, show me the ring."

He swallowed, his eyes darting back and forth a few times before he answered. "It's not here. It's in my safety deposit box, at the bank."

"Since when did you get a safety deposit box?"

"I've had it. A while." He made a big show of looking at his watch, the very expensive watch she'd bought him for his birthday. "I've got to go babe. I'll, uh, call you tomorrow."

"I'm not done—," she said, but his end shut down.

She wanted to reach through his computer and grab him by his overpriced silk tie. She knew it was a mistake, doing this remotely. She should have waited until she was close enough to kick him in the balls.

**-21 Days- Day 13-**

The sudden fierce knock on his door surprised him.

"Dr. Swan is here to see you Mr. Cullen."

"Send her in." He stood up from his bed but the door was open before he had a chance to straighten the sheets or his clothes.

"Hi Bella—"

"Do you want to take a walk with me? Now, like, right now?"

He'd never seen her so agitated. Her face was red and she was seething, her fists clenched, her bottom lip between her teeth.

"Did you get clea—"

"I already requested clearance. Are you coming with me, yes or no?"

"Yes." He sat down to pull on his shoes. From the corner of his eye he could see her foot tapping. He hurried.

Out in the courtyard for the first time he had to work to keep up with her as she raced walked two laps around before she slowed down and started talking.

"I spoke with Emmett. I've been an idiot."

"You're not an—"

She stopped in front of him, and turned to face him. "I am. I just accepted what we had because it was nice to have someone for things. For parties, to come home to, whenever he was actually home. He makes a very nice appearance, very neat. He'll talk to a rock and smile while doing it."

He suspected she did not want him to comment at this point. Alice had warned him, "Guys always want to fix things. Sometimes, women just want to tell you what's going on, to vent. Trust that she can fix things on her own, and just listen."

Bella's hands were fluttering in the air. "To think the nicest thing I can say about the guy I spent my last three years with is that he's NEAT."

She kicked the gravel at her feet and walked on. Edward walked next to her. Just as he was about to make a comment she stopped again.

"And you're completely right about the engagement thing. He was obviously lying when he said the ring was in 'his safety deposit box'."

Bella made her voice low, obviously mocking Emmett. He thought she sounded very funny, but the look in her eyes…he just hoped that her anger was only at this one particular male of the species and did not extend to the entire gender. He was the closest representative after all. He slowly crossed his hands into the fig leaf position, protecting his manhood, just in case.

"And my parents, they think he farts rainbows. I can't wait to have this discussion with them, and—"

"Wait, did you break up with him?" He hoped he didn't sound too hopeful. That was how he was feeling, but it wouldn't be right under the circumstances. Even he knew that, without Alice telling him.

"No, that's what's so frustrating!" She pounded her fist into her other hand. "He kept acting like I was crazy. He even asked if I was on tranquilizers or if I had some kind of 'Jungle Fever'. And then the worst…"

"What was the worst?"

"He hung up on me before I finished."

Trying to avoid stating the obvious, but not seeing a way around it, he asked, "Why didn't you call him back?"

She let out a huff, then took a deep breath. "I thought about it, but I realized he'd now have time to make up better answers, get some alibis in place. He'll probably call my parents, make up some bull about me acting weird."

"That's…not right."

"No, it's not. So I've got to call them first, tell them my side. But I needed to calm down."

They were back at the start of the loop. She put her hands on her knees and took a few calming breaths. She spoke very quietly. "Ok. I'm going to go do that now."

But she didn't move, so he mimicked her posture, leaning his head close to hers. She turned to face him, and spoke in a whisper, "Thanks for walking with me. I wanted to be totally calm and rational before I did this." She leaned in until their lips met, her hands sneaking around his head pulling him into the kiss. Her tongue slid between his lips and she sucked, making an audible smack when she disengaged. "Thanks, I needed that."

He stood like a statue as she trotted back over to Angela and disappeared into the building.

.

* * *

><p>AN: Thanks for all the lovely reviews, follows and favs. Greetings new readers; if you're this far along, might as well keep going!<p>

1)To answer a few technology questions: Their communications are both limited and monitored for security purposes. No cell phones, so no 'face time' or texts. They have a wired landline telephone and a laptop with a secure private network. They can only use their government issue email address, and get incoming mail and video from approved senders. Earlier in the story, Jasper mentioned that certain groups were trying to contact anyone who'd worked with Ebola patients, possibly to develop a biological weapon, making this a National Security issue. In my mind, not in RL. That I know of, anyway.

2)Most reviewers agreed that breaking up in person was the right thing to do, but in this case, any means, including carrier pigeon, would be acceptable.


	14. Day 14

**Day 14**

**.**

On another day, Edward would have enjoyed the broccoli rabe and sausage stromboli Ben brought for him. It was delicious. But all he could think about was Bella. That kiss. The email she sent early this morning.

**Dear Edward**

**I need to talk to my parents. They're coming to visit, and as my mother says, 'knock some sense into me.' I'll come see you after the knocking**

**B**

She didn't write anything about that kiss. She'd started it and she ended it. He wished he hadn't been taken by surprise, or he would have done a much better job. He was a good kisser, or so he'd been told. A little more preparation and he would have been outstanding. World class.

"Hey, youse better eat dat. My mom made it special."

He gave Ben a thumbs up and peeled off another piece of dough, enjoying the garlic and cheese. He chewed, wondering if Bella's parents were there, and if so, how much influence would they have over her? She was an adult. He suspected that at worst their interference would only delay the inevitable. Selfishly he'd like to tell them to just butt out, but she was their only child. It sounded like they were a little overinvolved in her life, but maybe she liked it that way? The bond between parents and children—how many times had he seen a child rally when an estranged parent or grandparent appeared at their bedside? It was one of the reasons, when on assignment with MSF, he made it a point to engage with the orphans. They didn't yet know the ways and the forever of how they'd miss their parents. He could only be there for them in the short term, to let them know someone still cared.

"Package for Cullen."

Angela winked at him as she placed the package in the doorway. She stood by Ben, and said loudly, "My charge is in the visitor's area. I won't be needed for another ninety minutes, in case you need some relief."

Ben answered, "I'm good."

Edward was torn. Be quiet and listen to them flirt? Or find out what's in the package?

They flirted every day.

Alice's address was on the outside, and inside, inside was the Lego Star Wars Sandcrawler, 2014 edition, all 3,296 pieces.

Was it wrong that he was so happy to see a toy? His mother kept a secret stash of Lego sets when he was younger, it was the only toy that could fully engage him, sometimes for hours. She'd pull one out if they were expecting dinner guests or she had to get something done around the house. Or, he suspected, just needed a break from his hyperactive antics.

He settled in, laying out the small plastic bags on his table. At least this would keep him occupied while he waited.

**-21 days-Day 14—**

**.**

She'd been looking forward to seeing her parents, even with the Plexiglas partition, until the conversation last night, turning this visit into an emergency summit about her love life.

"Baby Bee, I just don't understand. He's such a nice boy." Her mother was dabbing her eyes with a tissue, the charm bracelet Emmett bought for her clanking around her wrist.

This wasn't new territory. Her parents had always had difficulty letting her do things on her own. They were never more than two feet away from her on the playground. Mrs. Swan was class mother every year of Bella's life and went on every field trip. And sometimes it had been scary, when she was the youngest freshman in high school, flat as a board, still under five foot tall. She'd felt like she landed on the island of the Amazons in gym class; when changing clothes the other girls revealed their black lace thongs and filled out matching bras while Bella stood mortified in sensible white cotton panties and a tank top. The daily odyssey of wading through the crowded halls to her locker made her feel like a minnow swimming amongst the salmon.

She learned, she adapted, but in her parent's eyes she was still that little girl with too many books and no friends.

"Mom, please. I need your support here."

"Sweetie, Em was so concerned. He said you were talking crazy, like you had that Swedish thing."

"He said I had Stockholm syndrome?" Bella slapped the table.

Renee pointed, nodding her head. "See that, you're getting agitated. He said that's a sign."

"Mom, he has completely manipulated you. He's up to something. He didn't even call me for Thanksgiving."

"Well Sweetie he told me all about that. He said he didn't want to interrupt dinner to make a call. He has such nice manners."

Bella held her head in her hands. If anyone had Stockholm syndrome it was her mother. She was completely convinced that Emmett was right.

"He promised that if I spoke to you, he'd make sure you don't go on any more of these nasty trips."

She took a deep breath, then another. "That's what he called my work with MSF, a nasty trip?"

"Baby Bee, we all love you. Look what happened this time. Can't you just stay home and make a nice life with Emmett? He'll take care of you."

Despite all the toy doctor kits, chemistry sets and anatomy flashcards her mother had bought for her over the years, she suspected that deep inside, Renee would like nothing more than to see her daughter at home, caring for a pack of grandbabies.

Her mother must have sensed an opening in Bella's silence. "Come on sweetie, how many men would put up with a girlfriend who just disappears for months at a time? Not many. Now maybe he was a little naughty, not checking in with you, but can you blame him? The poor thing is so lonely."

Her father, who'd been sitting with a straight face, finally spoke. "Renee, don't you need to use the ladies' room? Who knows how many forms you have to fill out in this place to use it- better start now."

"You're right. Bella, do you have to go?"

"I'm good mom."

"If you're sure." Renee walked over to the guard and was led away.

"Thanks, Dad." Bella leaned over the table, almost touching the Plexiglas. "You believe me, right?"

"Bells, I never knew what you saw in that man. He's one slick operator, but if you and your mother liked him, I put up with him. I won't be sorry to see the last of him."

"Great, thanks Dad—"

"Not so fast. Renee is another story. She's always been too softhearted. You can't hang a man without proof. Get me some proof, and I'll straighten things out with your mother." He nodded, sitting back in his chair, then forward again. "One more thing, before your mother comes back. We're both proud of what you do. It's just scary as hell to see your little girl fly off to the other side of the planet, even if she's some big time doctor. I just don't let it show."

…

Her father gave her a wink, as her mother tried once last time to get her to promise to give Emmett another chance. Even though she knew she'd see them in a week, she felt the tears welling when they left.

...

Angela held the door, maintaining proper distance as she exited the visitor's center. "Whose room are we going to Dr. Swan?"

"Take a guess."

"Crazy man, 'bout ready to climb the walls waiting on you?"

"Sounds perfect."

…

The crazy man was on the floor, at least a dozen small bags of Lego pieces around him. As she walked in he said, "Don't touch anything!"

"Okay, fine." Bella turned around, "Angela, I—"

Suddenly her legs went out from under her and she was in Edward's arms as he carried her through the maze of blocks on the floor. "Correction," he said in her ear, "Don't touch anything made of plastic. Everything else in this room is fair game."

.

* * *

><p><strong>AN<strong>: Stromboli courtesy of ginkgo00. She suggested it, and it sparked the scene between Edward and Ben. For those who asked, last chapter the term PRBC refers to Packed Red Blood Cells, which is what you give a trauma patient who is low on blood and you don't know their blood type. Did I say that right Nurse Beta?


	15. Day 15

**Day 15**

**.**

She'd just wanted to decompress with Edward after the intense afternoon spent with her parents. She suggested they lay on the bed, instead of their usual seated position. She could still feel his warmth behind her, his strong arm tucked around her waist. They'd both drifted off until it was time for their evening temp check. Dinner was quiet, and they watched old episodes of The X-Files, again snuggled up on the bed. She'd left around midnight.

Without Edward to distract her, her mind swirled around the frustrating conversation with her mother and Emmett. How, while stuck in quarantine, was she going to get evidence that Emmett had been unfaithful? Her father was right, you can't try a man on a feeling. She'd still break up with him, no matter what her mother said, but it would be nice to have both parents on her side. If her mother didn't accept that Emmett was no good, she'd be dragging him out like a dog with a favorite chew toy, every time she got Bella alone.

She didn't really want to just cuddle with Edward. Lying in his arms she wanted nothing more than to turn around and press herself against him, to feel what they'd be like together. She allowed herself a few extra-long hugs before she left for her room. Scrubs didn't hide much; he wanted her as much as she wanted him.

She'd inspected her room the first day, and had found the trio of condoms tucked in with the tampons. She was sorely tempted to use them, but she needed to make sure Emmett knew they were over before she did. In her heart she knew Emmett had been unfaithful, but that didn't mean she'd sink to his level.

The night guard's shift was up, she could hear Angela's voice out in the hall. A few minutes later there was a knock.

"Come in." Bella had given up on sleeping around four, so she was already showered, dressed and sitting at her computer looking for inspiration on how to catch a cheater.

"Dr. Swan, I heard you had a late night."

"Angela, I told you to call me Bella."

The guard stood in the attention posture. "Not when I have official information, ma'am."

Bella turned in her chair to face her. "What would that be?"

"In reviewing the documents pertaining to your quarantine, it is required that you remain within this facility for a period of no less than 21 days unless medically required, that you present yourself at least two times a day for medical evaluation or more often as to be determined by the medical officer in charge. It is required that you maintain no less than a ten foot distance from any non-quarantined person, unless such person is wearing protective clothing. You may communicate using only the electronic devices and means as are issued to you."

"I know that."

Angela cocked a single eyebrow.

Bella threw her hands in the air, "Angela, what's your point?"

"And you're the doctor." Angela glanced back towards the empty hallway. "Doesn't say where you have to sleep."

Bella covered her grin with her hand as Angela stepped out. She wondered if Ben was sharing the same news with Edward. Who knew Cupid wore combat boots?

.

**-21 days-Day 15—**

It was almost lunchtime and Bella still wasn't there. He'd made good progress on the Sandcrawler, which was the only reason he wasn't shaking down Ben for information. He needed to thank Alice for the set, which he suspected was meant to be his Christmas present, but he just wanted to get the last track on—

"Mr. Cullen, Dr. Swan to see you."

Dropping the piece in his hand he stood up and stretched his arms out. She was pressed up against him before the door closed.

He couldn't resist a kiss to the top of her head as he hugged her. "I was wondering where you were."

"I've been busy."

"What, did Alice send you a Sandcrawler too?"

"No, the Death Star."

"What?" He pushed her back, still holding onto her shoulders. "Do you want any help with that, I did mine last year—"

"I'm kidding, I don't have a Death Star stashed in my room. You Lego people are too easy." She giggled as she walked over to the bed and sat down. She waved back at his piles of pieces. "You can carry on, I don't want to interrupt you."

He flopped down next to her, then pulled her over into his lap. "I'd rather carry on with you."

She'd been so quiet yesterday, he was glad to see her a little lighter this morning. He kept his hands piously around her waist, but his lips had other ideas. Her hair was in its usual pony tail, revealing her smooth, delicious looking neck. He began at her shoulder, and layered one kiss over the edge of the last, making his way up to her ear. She squirmed in his arms, her ass putting pressure on his already hard cock. She sighed his name. She said it again, a little louder.

"Edward!" She leaned forward, breaking contact with his lips. "I need to do something before we can…do…that." She twisted in his lap and stroked her fingers over his mouth. "And I really want to do that."

_Please,_ he thought, _please don't let her say we need to be out of here before we do that. _

He kept his hips still, when all his body wanted to do was push further into her. Taking a deep breath, he calmed himself enough to ask, "What do you need to do?"

"I need to find proof that Emmett has been…unfaithful, so I can end things with him. I really just came in here for a break, I've been on the computer all morning I just don't where to find—"

He couldn't help himself but laugh. He had her solution, right at his fingertips, it couldn't be easier.

She slapped his shoulder. "It's not funny, my mother is really upset with me, and she thinks I'm making a big mistake."

He slid his hands to her hands and held them firmly. "I don't think what he did to you is funny. I have what you need, but I don't want you to get mad."

"Why would I get mad if you have what I need?"

_What would Alice say, what would Alice say? _There had to be a way to phrase this so it didn't sound like he'd been looking into her creepy boyfriend without her permission. Even though that's exactly what he'd been doing. Alice would know…_that's it! Eureka!_

"My sister really wants to meet you." Edward lifted Bella by the hips and deposited her onto the blanket. He turned on the laptop and brought it back to the bed. "I told you she's pregnant, she has a million questions." He figured if he filled the space while he waited for Alice to answer his request, Bella wouldn't get a chance to question why he was introducing her to his sister in the middle of their discussion. "Yeah, they're so excited, they started trying last year and frankly, a brother doesn't want to hear that his baby sister is 'trying' if you know what I mean, Hey Alice!"

"Hey Wardo, you calling to thank me for the awesome, woe, is that who I think it is? Is that Bella?"

He angled the screen so his sister could see Bella better. "Alice, let me introduce you to the lovely Doctor Bella Swan."

"Oh, oh, oh, I've been dying to meet you! You'll have to come to dinner when you guys get out. Seriously, I can't drink anymore, obviously," She pointed to her lap, "but believe me, I'm still a good time."

Bella looked confused, so Edward filled in. "Allie, could you explain to Bella what you used to do for the private investigator? I think you could help her."

"Oh sure! I investigated people's online lives, social media, buying patterns, stuff like that. It's amazing what you can find out."

He felt a little bad as he left the women to talk while he continued to assemble the base of the Sandcrawler. At some point he'd have to come clean that he already saw the information Alice would now 'uncover' for Bella. He completed the section, then turned the page in the instruction guide for the next part when Bella called to him.

"Your sister wants to talk to you."

He crab walked back to the bed and sat thigh to thigh with Bella. "What's up Allie?"

"I sent you a link to a video. When you get off with me, I want you to watch it. With Bella." With a smirk she blew him a kiss and signed off.

Bella shrugged her shoulders. She had no idea what Alice was talking about. It was way too fast for Alice to pretend to dig up the dirt on Emmett; what was she playing at? He knew that little smirk she'd ended the call with, he'd seen it many times, usually just before he'd find pudding in his shoes or his backpack filled with bricks. He had no choice but to follow through.

The link brought them to a web news site. The still image was a dark haired woman holding a microphone. The room in the background looked familiar, but he couldn't place it. He clicked.

"Investigative reporter Yasmin Patel here, looking into the shameful manner the United States government has been treating the medical workers who have heroically put their lives in jeopardy to protect us from the imminent plague of Ebola Hemorrhagic fever. The forced 21 day quarantine," a picture flashed of the brick entrance to Fort Monmouth with a camouflage painted jeep in front, "has wreaked havoc in the lives of those brave volunteers and their families. We're in the living room of Tanya Denali, fiancé of one of the detained heroes."

He gasped. "She's not, she was never—"

Bella slapped her hand over his mouth. "I'm listening."

Tanya spoke, her sparkling ring displayed as two fingers of her left hand pressed against her bright red lips. "It's been so hard. I can't see my poor baby, he's probably starving." Her eyes flicked to the side. "And I'm sure his civil rights are being abused. I mean, I had to go to my cousin's wedding without him and he really wanted to go."

The reporter asked another question, but he couldn't hear for the howls coming out of Bella.

"Oh, I thought Emmett was bad, but you got yourself one peach of a fiancé there." She pinched his cheeks. "Poor baby."

.

* * *

><p>AN: Thanks to jane210 for pointing out my failure to properly list the characters, which explains why this wasn't coming up in search engines. Thanks also to the facebook group and Nicfic (sp)-sorry, I lost the paper I scribbled this info on, so I don't have the names right, but thank you to everyone who has spread the word about this story. oxoxo2old<p> 


	16. Day 16

**Day 16**

**.**

Staring at her computer Bella waited for Alice to contact her as promised.

Their conversation yesterday was unexpected. Alice was no meek little pregnant lady. Edward's sister had his same energy level, and was anxious to help. She shot off a series of questions from what she called an intake form.

Bella had answered with as much of Emmett's personal information as she knew; social security number, mother's maiden name, elementary school, high school, college, dog's name, nicknames, where he was born, what car he drove and the last two places he'd worked.

"Do you want his shoe size?"

"Sure," Alice laughed, "It couldn't hurt."

"Seriously?"

"I had a client whose husband was buying men's shoes and suits, but not in his size."

"Do I want to know how that ended?"

"The husband was a prominent, conservative—I shouldn't tell you that. Let's just say our client got a significant settlement."

She was both anxious and giddy about what Alice might turn up. She wanted concrete information so she could move forward with Edward, and get Emmett out of her life. Alice promised her all that and more.

"I peg him as a narcissist. Guys like that think they're better than everyone else, that they'll never get caught, so they leave trails everywhere."

"Do you think I'm right? I could just be paranoid, like my mother said."

"Sweetie, in all the time I've done this, I've never not found something. By the time the significant other is pushed to contact a PI, their intuition has been warning them for a long while."

"I feel so stupid."

Alice shrugged. "You're a good person. Good people get tricked because they could never do what these creeps do."

"Thanks for helping me. You don't even know me."

"But I know my brother. He's smitten."

"Smitten?"

"Yes, with you. There's no other word for it."

"Does that mean you're going to check up on me?"

Alice rubbed her chin. "Already did. You, Dr. Swan are so squeaky clean it makes me feel guilty for my two parking tickets. I mean, except for sideswiping that car the week after you got your driver's license, and a failure to answer a jury summons which was expunged because it came when you were out of the country working for MSF, you're perfect."

"Oh." Bella wondered what else Alice knew but wasn't sharing with her. It was scary what this woman could find.

"Did you tell Edward this?"

"God no. I stopped telling him what I found out about his dates two chicks before Tanya. One, because generally by the time I had my info he had moved on, and two, he said he didn't care because they wouldn't be around long enough for any of that to matter."

"I feel a little, exposed."

"I'm sorry. It's kind of an occupational habit. Like med students always think they've got the latest disease they're studying, I can't look at a person and not want to know if they're hiding something."

When Bella was silent, Alice jumped back in. "But I won't anymore. I erased your records from my computer, and I won't look again." Long pause. "Unless you hurt my brother, then the gloves come off."

..

She glanced at the clock, it was still too early to call Alice. After all, what could she have found out in one day? And she wanted time to process what Alice said without Edward there. It would be embarrassing enough to find out she'd been fooled without another witness. Still, it had only been a few hours, but she missed him.

Why did she miss Edward so much? She'd never missed Emmett like this, even when she was away for weeks and weeks. She remembered people teary eyed when talking about how badly they longed for their spouses and Bella thought they were a bit feeble. Who could possibly miss another person so much that it could make you weep?

She owed many people apologizes for doubting them. The way she felt for Edward, she would never be away from him willingly. Just waiting in this room for his sister to contact her was bad enough.

.

**-21 Days-Day 16—**

Alice never minced words. "Thanks for throwing me under the bus."

Edward knew he had it coming. He knew if they were having this conversation face to face he would have gotten at least a slap upside his head.

"Bella needed help and I thought—"

"You thought you'd look like a jerk telling her, so you're making me do it."

"Pretty much."

"You're lucky I love you. With the info Bella gave me I have enough to hang this guy three times. I'm going to tell her, but on one condition." Alice tilted her head to the side and put her finger on her chin. "Maybe two."

He'd do anything for Bella, but a lifetime with Alice taught him not to promise her anything unconditionally. The last time resulted in him wearing a pink Playboy bunny outfit for her Halloween party. With high heels, stockings and a pink fluffy tail. "What are the conditions?"

"One, you tell her that you knew. I'm not starting my relationship with my future sister-in-law with a lie."

"Of course I'll tell her." Edward rubbed at the back of his neck. He didn't want to tell Bella, but if he didn't and it ever came out…he had to tell her. "What else?"

"Name your first baby after me."

"It would not be just my baby, it would be our baby so—"

"HA, I just got you to admit you want to have babies with her!" Alice clapped her hands over her head. "I've still got it. I can't wait to tell mom and dad you're finally getting married."

"ALICE!" She stopped when he yelled, but she was still grinning. "Do you think you could let me, I don't know, take her out on a date first or something?"

"Pfft…dates are so last year. I heard the new way to meet your soul mate is in quarantine. Later!" And she was gone.

Lunch was delivered and eaten. He intentionally slowed his pace, so he was still on the last hundred pieces of the Sandcrawler, still waiting for Bella to contact him. If he had enough hair to grab onto, he'd be pulling it out.

What if Alice gave him up? She wouldn't do that, would she?

..

Last fifty pieces. Did Alice tell her something else, besides the stunt with Tanya? Speaking of that fame-whore, he'd better send her an email telling her to stop calling herself his fiancé. If ever a girl were more trouble than she was worth…his email pinged.

**Come to my room.**

**B**

That could mean anything. "Come to my room" and make out. "Come to my room" we're done. "Come to my room" I'm devastated. "Come to my room"—he was driving himself crazy. He called out to Ben.

…

As he walked the hall he imagined Bella curled up on her bed, weeping. He wanted to comfort her. He could hear her raised voice through the door. He hoped she wasn't hysterical.

Bella was standing in front of her laptop, pointing to one side. "Yes, there. The combination is…"

He looked on the screen. His sister, his SISTER was crouched next to a knee high safe.

"What's going on?"

Bella waved him over, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek. "Hold on sweetie, Alice is taking care of some things for me."

"Where is she?"

"My place." Bella turned back to the screen.

His first reaction was to be annoyed. His sister got to see Bella's place before he did? How was that fair? Of course, Bella was here, but still.

"Why is my sister at your place?"

Bella waved for him to sit down. He sat on the bed and watched Alice remove a number of jewelry boxes, opening and placing them in front of whoever was taking the video.

"Who's taking the pictures?"

"My dad."

So Alice got to go to Bella's place AND meet Bella's dad before he did? So not fair.

"It's all there." Bella stood, arms akimbo. No curled up, weeping, devastated woman here. She reminded him of a warrior, in scrubs. It was kind of turning him on. Nope, not kind of. Definitely. He crossed his leg over his thigh.

"All right Alice. Time for step two."

"Okay B, let me know how it goes." His sister disappeared.

Bella fell onto the bed next to him. He rolled so they were face to face. Her eyes were bright, her hair escaping from her ponytail, her skin flushed. In short; glorious.

"What have you been up to my warrior princess?"

Bella turned on her side, her head propped up on her hand. "Your sister, your sister…you can't believe what she found out. Emmett is a charlatan, a liar, a womanizer…I felt so, so…violated. I _trusted_ him." She huffed and puffed for a moment. "But Alice said, don't get mad, get even. Alice knows a guy for…pretty much everything. She has some muscle coming over to watch the apartment. We just wanted to make sure my jewelry and things were all accounted for before it hits the fan. I thought you might like to listen in. And help a little."

"Of course, I'll do whatever you need."

"Here's the plan. Emmett wouldn't answer my call when I said it was me. You're going to pretend to be Rosalie Hale's executive assistant. He'll pick up for her. He just landed the Hale group, it's a huge account for him. Then I lay out my demands."

Bella sat up, stretching her arms over her head and cracking her knuckles. "Alice and my dad set up some cameras to make sure Emmett doesn't take anything that doesn't belong to him when he's packing up. We already changed the locks."

"Busy morning." Edward was impressed. If Bella and Alice ever turned against him, he'd be in deep trouble. She handed him a paper.

"I need you to read this. Emmett's assistant will answer, just sound snobby and she'll put you right through."

He read the lines then nodded that he was ready. Bella dialed the number.

"Good afternoon, I have Rosalie Hale of the Hale Group for Emmett McCarthy." Like magic, the douchebag was on the phone. "Hey sexy, so you couldn't wait to see me tonight?" Edward passed the handset to Bella.

"Emmett McCarthy, you are on a recorded line. I've uncovered some very incriminating information about you, things I'm sure your employer and Miss Hale, would be very interested in knowing."

Edward could hear Emmett yell on the other end, "Bella, what the hell are you talking about?"

"Two words; Miss Reno." There was silence on the other end of the phone. "Glad I have your attention. It's also come to my attention that the University of Pennsylvania Diploma you have hanging in your office is a fake, you never attended a single class there. You don't have an MBA, you never finished your Bachelor's degree. I have pictures and hotel records of five separate nights you spent with your bosses' wife. And I have intimate pictures of you with Miss Reno the night before you spent the night with Miss Hale. Security footage doesn't lie. Furthermore, half the items on your resume are falsified. Shall I go on?"

Bella shook her head. He could make out Emmett yelling on the other end, but Bella stayed quiet. "Are you done? Here are my demands. $75,000 to cover rent and living expenses for the three years you mooched off of me, to be paid to Doctors Without Borders. Everything of yours out of my apartment by 9 pm, tonight. And I mean everything, I don't want to find one cell of your DNA." Loud grumbly noises came through the phone.

"I'm not being unreasonable. You would have had more time if you'd answered my call earlier." There was more cursing on the other end. "Your keys won't work. My father will be waiting at the apartment to watch you. He won't be alone. I want the money wired to MSF by noon tomorrow. I know you have the money; would you like me to read off your account numbers?"

There must have been a lot of begging going on the other end. Bella rolled her eyes until the noise subsided. "If MSF doesn't have your generous donation by noon tomorrow, your boss and Miss Hale will be receiving packages with the evidence I've turned up. And in case I wasn't clear, you and I are over. I never want to see you again, unless you're being indicted for something."

She clashed the phone onto its' base, took a deep breath and started crying.

He pulled her onto his lap. "Are you all right?"

"Damn his lying ass. I didn't want to cry." She snorted, sliding her arms around his neck. "I'm angry and happy and pissed off and overwhelmed and relieved all at the same time. And free of him. I'm free."

.


	17. Day 17

**Day 17**

**.**

She suspected it wasn't a good idea, sleeping in Edward's arms all night. Sure enough, their temps were up slightly, but she couldn't stop smiling. Waking up with his face grinning back at her on the same pillow had been like a dream. She'd never laughed and kissed and laughed so much in one night—in one month—in her entire life. It seemed impossible to stop smiling and laughing as Angela checked in on them, suggesting they come up for air.

The twin bed was too small, which was her reasoning for lying on top of him instead of side by side. Listening to his heartbeat was her new favorite thing to do, when not doing her other new favorite things. She spoke into his chest. "We have to go back to your room. To finish the Sandcrawler."

"Hmm." He stroked the back of her head. "And to fetch my condoms."

"We haven't used the ones here."

"Once we start, I'm not leaving this bed until we do."

She giggled against his bare chest. They spent the night touching with hands and lips, uncovering the secrets their scrubs hid. Knowing they couldn't responsibly go any further heightened the experience of nibbling nipples and navels. It was the best kind of torture, leaving them both panting, grinning, and anticipating the moment they could finally be completely united.

At least she got fully dressed before the nurse came in; Edward just pulled on his pants.

"Is there anyone we could bribe to speed up the process?" They'd both requested copies of their test results from the duration of their confinement. Bella was fairly sure that all common STI's were part of their early blood panels and urine tests, but based on the evidence of the vast audience Emmett entertained with his dick she wanted to be sure she was clean.

She didn't want to think—she did enough of that yesterday. She just wanted to enjoy the sensations of Edward running his hands through her hair, touching her skin, and the kissing. She'd never been so thoroughly kissed. Her lips were swollen with it. He left the best kind of electric charge as he randomly touched his lips to her skin; her neck, under her breasts, inside her elbow. He feasted on the backs of her knees, her ankles, tracing patterns with his tongue 'til she dragged him back up to her mouth. Kissing her, he said, was his new life's ambition.

She whispered, "I want you, so much." Did she detect his heart speed up a bit? She continued her experiment. "I want you in this bed, on the chair, on the floor, in the shower…"

"On a box, with a fox, after some lox?" He flipped her and pushed himself between her thighs. "There are moments when I wish we were not trained, responsible, medical professionals."

She pushed back, enjoying the feel of him hard pressing into her sex, even if it was through their clothing. "Responsibility is overrated." She allowed herself another decadent moment before her common sense took over. "Let's go for a walk." She squirmed under him but he wouldn't let her up. "Hey, come on, move."

"Why would I move when I've finally got you where I want you?"

He was slowly grinding against her. She needed to stop him before she pulled down her scrubs and mounted him, damn all the communicable diseases in the world.

She sighed. "Spontaneous human combustion. We are going to ignite if we keep rubbing body parts together and can't finish the job."

With a final thrust, he lifted off her, but stayed in a push up position, her body between his strong arms. He wasn't making it easy. _Like a Band-Aid_, she thought and scrambled quickly off the bed, throwing a scrub top at him. "Put a shirt on. Please."

He teased her, arms over his head stretching as he intentionally dragged out the activity. His scrubs were loose, sliding down his hips, and she had empirical knowledge that he wasn't wearing under garments. His pants were now being held up by his manhood.

"Edward, your pants!"

He ignored her as he methodically lowered his scrub top down his chest. "Which is it woman? A minute ago you were worried about my shirt. You can't keep changing your mind." He turned, wiggling his bite able ass at her. As tempted as she was to test its bite worthiness, she slapped it instead.

"Oh Mistress Swan! I knew you had a little dominatrix in you. Me likey."

"Your sister is supposed to call. I can't talk to her while you're going all Magic Mike on me."

He pouted his way to the shower. She didn't know exactly what she was getting into with him, but she never felt so effervescent, so hopeful for the future.

She was showered and dressed by the time Alice called with a full report. The money went through. Charlie watched Emmett move out, refusing to shake his hand or listen to him at all. A letter was being sent to all the women Alice was able to identify, on official looking health agency letterhead, advising them as a former sexual partner of one Emmett McCarthy, also known as Dale McCarty and Matt Michaels, they should be tested for sexually transmitted infections.

..

Ben announced it was over 60 degrees and sunny, so they decided to eat lunch outside.

They were sitting on one of the benches, eating the turkey avocado club sandwiches from the deli Angela recommended, when they saw a woman emerge from the main building, squinting in the sunlight. She approached, but before she got too close, in one voice, Bella and Edward said, "What day are you?"

"What day? Day 5." She came closer, "I'm Kate, I just—"

Bella put her hand up. "Stop, please. We're day seventeen, and we don't want to restart our clock."

"But this is bullshit." Kate pointed at the chain-link fence. "We're not symptomatic, we're not going to spread anything. The virus doesn't work that way."

"I know that, you know that, but the average person doesn't know that. This place is 99% public image, 1% public safety." Bella shrugged her shoulders. She felt bad for the woman but there wasn't much she could do.

"Hey, we both know what you're going through." Edward spoke with a soothing tone. "Your email address ends with the date you got here. Check the directory, you can hang out with anyone who came in the same day. That's what we do."

As Kate left to go search for some company, Bella turned to Edward. "Is that what you call what we're doing? Hanging out?"

"No, what we're doing is advanced hanging out, only for experts, not to be tried at home."

"So we won't be able to do this when we get home?"

"Silly woman, I'm a grand master at this. What I plan to do when I get out of here, is do you, often and well, wherever and whenever possible." He leaned in for a kiss, but she pushed him off.

"You've been distracting me all night and day."

"Didn't hear any objections."

"No, I didn't object. But we have things to talk about."

.

**-21 days- Day 17—**

"Things?" Playing stupid was not his best move, but at this point he wasn't sure what she knew. Did Alice give her a hint? Had she guessed? He'd been in a fog of requited lust and release when he should have been thinking about his defense. She was going to be angry, the question was how much.

Bella raised an eyebrow. "Tanya? Your fiancé?"

He slumped in relief, "That, you know, I told you, I never asked her to marry me, never intended to. I don't know where she got that ring…"

"Edward, I know thaaaat." She laughed. "As if I thought you were slinging 20 karat diamond rings around, I mean, unless you're the love child of Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, who can afford something like that? As my mother told me, if you're going to wear fake jewelry, make it small enough to be believable. That ring was about as real as her boobs."

"So, what's the problem?"

"I'm not going to be seen with someone else's fake fiancé. She probably has those cretins on speed dial. You know she's going to show up the day we get out with a camera crew for your big 'reunion'."

He'd never seen Bella use air-quotes. Obviously Tanya got her going. At least this he could shut down.

"I'll call her. Today, as soon as we go inside."

Bella seemed content with his answer. She took a bite of the dill pickle that came with the sandwich. It made him think of other things she might not be opposed to biting. As soon as those tests…"Argh!"

"What?" She looked at him, with those sweet trusting eyes. He didn't want her to look at him differently, so he didn't want to tell her. But he had to. If it ever came out down the road, it would ruin them.

"I knew."

"You knew what? That Tanya was doing that interview? You just said—"

"Not about Tanya." He stared at the brown grass between their feet. _Man up Cullen_. "Don't blame Alice. I asked her to look into Emmett before, before you asked her to."

He waited for an answer. When she didn't speak he looked up. Her lips were in a straight line, her eyes cold. The only sound was the crinkling of the butcher paper as she bunched it in her fist. She nodded her head slightly.

He swallowed and cleared his throat. "I was suspicious. He didn't seem right. I knew it wasn't my place to ask about him." He wished she's say something, but she only stared. "If he came up clean, or wasn't that bad, I would have just backed off. Really. I'm sorry. I was only—"

She took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. "You know, I—I need a little space." She stood. "Before I say something I might regret for a long time."

He stood, "I'm sorry."

She waved him back behind her as she walked to the building.

…

He didn't even want to finish the Sandcrawler. His head hurt and while he just wanted to curl up in his lonely bed, he needed to do something first.

Tanya answered on the second ring.

"Eddie!"

He cringed at the sound of her voice. "Tanya, I saw you did an interview. You said you were my fiancé."

"You saw it!" It sounded like she was squealing. "Eddie saw my interview! I told you it was going to make a thousand hits! This is so exciting!"

"Who are you talking to?"

"Tyler's here."

"Tanya, you're not my fiancé. I never asked you to marry me. I never implied I was going to."

"Eddie, I know that! They wanted relatives of people who were quarantined for the story. They said a fiancé is more dramatic. I gave them some pictures of us together on the beach. They think you're really hot, they said you're 'click-bait' or something. Isn't it crazy, I'm on TV!"

"No more Tanya. You can't use my name, and you can't call yourself my fiancé."

"Come on Eddie, they give me a few hundred dollars per interview. I'm just trying to make a buck."

"You need to stop. Jasper will be sending you and that webnews site a cease and desist order. Do you know what that is?"

"Yeah, some legal crap. Now I'm out that money, and I'm over my credit line on my Visa."

"That's not my problem, Tanya. And just to be clear, we're not dating anymore, I was never your fiancé and you need to stop pretending I was."

"Can't it wait til it gets some more hits? I really want it to break a thousand."

"No more. Stop now. Got it?"

The phone clicking off was her only reply. He needed to get Jasper to send out those letters; knowing Alice she was probably already working on it.

…

He checked his email one last time. Still nothing from Bella. He didn't order anything for dinner, he wasn't hungry. He slid under the covers for a nap hoping that Bella would forgive him. He looked at the almost complete Sandcrawler. He'd wanted many unimportant things in his life, and he'd been lucky so far. He'd trade everything, everything, for the forgiveness of the woman he loved.

.

.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:<strong> **assignment**: Say "nibbling nipples and navels", 5 times fast. Please forgive me for leaving you there.


	18. Day 18

**Day 18**

**.**

**.**

He wasn't sure if it was still night or early in the morning when he opened his crusty eyes. The desk lamp was on, shining towards the table. Bella sat facing the Sandcrawler, a brown plastic piece in her hand.

"Bella?" His voice came out more like a croak. "What're you doing?"

"I was going to finish the Sandcrawler. I know how you Lego people feel about the last piece."

He didn't say anything. Yes, he did get a little thrill out of attaching the last piece of a set, but she could do the last pieces forever and ever, if she just forgave him.

"I was thinking how I was going to explain this to you." She picked up some things from the table. He pulled back his blanket to invite her under the covers, but she sat on the edge of the bed. "And I think I figured out a way that you'll understand."

She held three of the mini-figures that came with the set. "This is me." She put down the figure of Luke Skywalker, light saber in hand. "This is you." He was the gold droid C-3PO. "And this," she held up a tiny R2-D2, "is Alice."

Luke spoke first, "C-3PO, you asked R2D2 to look into an acquaintance of mine without telling me."

"Sir," said C-3PO, "Is this unacceptable? It was valuable information. The person was a threat."

She did a passable C-3PO and a very good Luke Skywalker. He knew she'd forgiven him, or she wouldn't be in here doing Star Wars Theater.

"Yes, the person was a threat. I appreciate R2D2's fine work."

R2D2 made a whistling noise.

"Yes, you're forgiven R2D2, because you were only doing your job."

He wanted to point out that Luke couldn't understand R2D2's language when he was at the Sandcrawler, but knew this was not the time to correct Bella.

Luke continued. "As a protocol droid, do you understand embarrassment?"

"Of course Master Luke, I understand embarrassment: a feeling of self-consciousness, shame or awkwardness, synonyms, mortification, humiliation, shame—"

"You know the definition, but have you ever _felt_ embarrassed?"

"No, sir."

R2D2 made more sounds.

"Thank you R2D2. Thanks for your offer to tell me embarrassing stories about C-3PO. I can't wait to hear all of them. And thank you for your research, I'm glad you did it. But I wish 3PO had told me what he was doing."

Edward interrupted, "But I—"

"Shssh." Bella hissed in her own voice. "I'm not done."

"C-3PO you trot around in your golden metal skin, not caring what anyone thinks of you. I wish I was like that, but I'm not. I'm human, and I wished you had not seen all the things that happened behind my back, and what a bad judge of character I am. R2D2 says you don't have a mean bone in your body, which is true since robots don't have any bones."

He pressed his lips together, trying not to laugh at the discussion of bones. He had a bone he wanted to show her.

"R2D2 says you don't understand the concept of personal boundaries. We are going to have to work on that. For example, our test results came back. I looked at mine. Yours are in a folder on the desk. I didn't look, because that's private. C-3PO, do you think you can make that distinction between private and non-private in the future?"

"Oh yes Master Skywalker."

"I forgive you. But if you do it again, I'll have to use my light saber on you. And not in a good way."

R2D2 made a few more whistles, but the play was interrupted. Edward couldn't resist pulling her down to the bed, the toys jammed between them, so he could kiss her thoroughly.

When he stopped to breathe, Edward said against her cheek, "I'm sorry I embarrassed you. I only wanted to protect you."

"I know. But seeing what he did, I felt like an imbecile. It was bad enough knowing your sister knew. She swears she's seen much worst, and that you only saw about a quarter of what she showed me. But you, I only want you to think good things about me. I can't imagine what you thought when you saw—"

"I saw a woman with a big heart, being taken advantage of by a man who only cared about himself." He pulled her closer so she was on his chest, her legs between his. "I just wanted to help you. I—I love you Bella."

She didn't say anything, burrowing her head into his chest. After a moment she wiped her eyes and sniffed. "You're going to think I'm the biggest baby, crying all the time."

"Shhh." He kissed her hair. "I didn't mean to make you cry."

"No, it's okay." She lifted her head, and pulled herself up so she was eye to eye with him. "It's more than okay. Cause I love you too."

.

**-21 Days- Day 18—**

**.**

When he pulled the blanket over them, she relaxed into his chest. She wasn't used to dealing with her feelings; she'd spent much of her training learning how to detach herself from the emotions at hand in order to do her job better. She needed to see a sick child first as a problem to be solved. Feeling sorry for a sick kid helped no one. There were plenty of times when she let her tears flow in the break room or office, but in front of parents and patients she was strong. The whiplash emotions of the day, from the highs of the morning, to the long, lonely afternoon spent evaluating the wildfire nature of her relationship with Edward, left her drained.

When she decided that she was going to forgive him, and even thank him for revealing what a scoundrel her ex had been, she couldn't wait to see him. But he looked so sweet asleep, his hands folded under his head, long golden eyelashes resting on his cheeks, the fuzzy stubble along his jaw. She couldn't bring herself to wake him. She'd been tempted to crawl into bed with him, but she wanted to clear things up first. She felt like they had finally come to an understanding. He was so warm and solid underneath her, but she was still so tired. They'd barely slept the night before, and she had worried herself awake 'til the small hours of the morning, when he finally realized she was there. "I'm so sleepy."

"Mmmph. Me too." He tightened his arms around her. "Don't go anywhere."

"Don't you want to know what my test results were?"

"Yep. In the morning."

"Really? You don't want to know now?"

"I know." He kissed her ear softly. "You're fine, or you would have told me right away."

She giggled quietly, thinking how well he knew her in the short time they'd been together.

"Sleep now warrior princess. For tomorrow I plan on plundering you. You'll need your energy."

"Hmm, you say such sweet things." Pressing her ear to his chest, she heard the strong steady beat of the heart that loved her, and drifted to sleep.

…

"Dr. Swan, Mr. Cullen, wake up. We need to take your temps."

For a moment the person swathed in plastic seemed like something out of a science fiction movie. It took a moment to get her bearing; the unpleasant thing poking her knee was Luke Skywalker, the pleasant thing poking between her legs was Edward, whose morning erection was placed just perfectly.

"Could you give us a minute?"

"I'm sorry, I knocked but you didn't answer. I had to come in, it's protocol."

"I know, just, five minutes."

She felt a little bad for the medic. Bella had spent too much time in a similar suit and they weren't comfortable.

She'd like to stay exactly where she was, cozy and warm, but that wasn't going to happen, at least not today. She began at the notch of the vee neck of his scrubs, kissing his skin up along the edge til she got to his clavicle. He was breathing deeper and his hips began a slow gyration. She smiled into his neck. "I know you're awake."

"Hmm. If I admit it, will you stop what you're doing?"

"No."

"Okay, then I'm awake."

She sat up, pressing down firmly. A deep groan rumbled out of him, his hands pulling her hips still tighter onto him. Sighing, she said, "We have to have our temperatures taken before we continue this."

"Which medic?"

"Arlene." There were different levels of squeamishness among the medical staff. Arlene was the most senior person on staff, she didn't care if you were naked hanging by your toes as long as she got what she needed.

"So why do we have to get out of bed?"

"Are you always going to be like this?"

He wiggled underneath her. "Yes."

"If you're a good boy I'll give you a sticker."

"I don't want a sticker. I want to stick her." He thrust again for emphasis.

She laughed, her head against his chest, and wondered again what she'd gotten herself into. "That can be arranged, but only if you cooperate for Arlene. Got it?"

She used his bathroom for a quick clean up, then switched places with him. She straightened the sheets, returning the mini-figures to their place by the Sandcrawler. Luke's light saber had come loose, she snapped it back into his hand.

Arlene was back and took Bella's temperature. "You're normal." The older woman eyed the Lego creation. "That's a great idea. We should put some of those in the comfort boxes. People start climbing the walls after a few days." She nodded towards the bathroom. "You're lucky you have him."

"I know." She tried not to grin like a loon, but thinking of Edward made her happy. She had a sudden thought. "Arlene, is there any way to get refills on some of the things in the comfort box?"

"What do you need?"

She felt herself blushing.

"I'm just kidding, I'll drop a couple more off by the end of the day. We were betting how long it would be."

Just when she thought she couldn't get more embarrassed, the thought of the military medical team betting on how quickly they'd use up their condoms raised the bar. She felt like her face was on fire.

"Here's Mr. Lucky. Open wide." They stood waiting for the beep. "You're up two tenths."

"He was just, we were in bed and body heat—"

"Dr. Swan, I know. This ain't my first rodeo. We'll just keep an eye out and Mr. Cullen try not to be in bed next temp check. That's in twelve hours, think you could be done before then or should I send in those supplies STAT?"

Arlene left, laughing to herself.

Edward raised his eyebrows. "What was that about?"

"It seems our potential condom use is the subject of some wagers in the medical department."

She wasn't expecting the snort. "Man, I should have worked something out with Ben. Poor guy deserves a little Christmas bonus."

"What, you, seriously?" She pointed at the door to the hall. "It doesn't bother you that they're out there discussing, listening to our, our…activities?"

"Hell no. Think of it as entertaining the troops." She felt herself being airborne again as he lifted her from behind, carrying her to the bed. Dropping her down, he reached behind his back and pulled off his shirt. He was untying his pants when she stopped him.

"What do you think you're doing?"

"Sex is way better naked."

"Your file?"

"I checked my results every day for the first week. I'm clean except for the rechecks. So I figure whatever your results say, we're stuck with raincoats for the next six months."

"But why didn't you say anything?" She felt stupid again. She should have been checking her results too.

"One, I didn't want you to feel like you were the only one that needed to be tested. Two, I suspected Tanya wasn't a one man woman all along. I was curious."

"Oh." He was lifting her top over her head. She didn't want to resist, but the guards—"Ben will hear us."

"So? Just pretend I'm your high school boyfriend and we're getting it on on your parents couch. We need to be verrrry quiet."

"I never did that."

"Really? You went to his place?"

"There was no him. I didn't date in high school."

"Okay, let's play 'my roommate's asleep in the other bed and we have to be quiet'."

"Never happened."

"You didn't date in college?" He looked at her, his head to the side as if he were stunned. "Man, were all the guys at your school blind?"

"I chose not to. I was focused on my studies, so I could graduate early."

Somehow Edward had slid his hands around and unhooked her bra. His fingers were slowly circling her bare areola. She could feel the skin puckering from his touch. "So tell me, Dr. Swan. Where is the naughtiest place young Isabella got it on?"

"Umm, mmmm," it was getting harder to form words while he licked her neck with the tip of his tongue. "The, uh, on call room."

"Really…I can work with that." He brushed his hand over her face, making her close her eyes. "Think of carts being rolled down the hall. Some doctor is being paged. You only have a few minutes, you have to go stitch some drunk up, he won't notice if you're gone a little longer."

He was pulling her pants and panties down together, but she grabbed them before they passed her knees. "Maybe we should wait. 'Til we can do this right and take our time."

He breathed the words into her ear. "I'm a dessert before dinner kind of guy, Bella. Let's do it now, _and_ do it later." His hands slid between her legs. She bit her lip when his fingers met her slick entrance. "Tell me right now if you really want to wait."

He stopped moving. She looked at his eyes, dark as she'd ever seen them, his full lips, his nipples hard, and his cock, thick and straight, shining at the tip, ready to go. She wanted him, she wanted him now. Her voice deep with need, she whispered, "Give me the condom."

He'd stashed it under the pillow. By the time she finished opening the packet, he'd finished stripping her. She rolled it on, seating it with one hand, feeling his balls with the other. His cock twitched as she guided him to her opening. He didn't ask again, he moved powerfully into her and stopped. Forehead to forehead, they looked into each other's eyes. At an unspoken signal they started to buck together, desperate to finally be one. He stopped suddenly, and holding her ass switched positions so she was riding him.

"I have to touch you," he gasped, his hands covering her breasts. "So fucking sexy." She knew one way to keep him quiet—she bent over and kissed him, deep as if she was searching for her soul in his mouth. One of his hands found her clit, and was making tight circles. She was so wound up that she started to come immediately.

"God I love watching you." He turned her over again, pulling her to the edge of the bed, lifting one leg up as he pounded faster and faster, his skin slapping against hers, until he was hissing his release in quiet curses. He laid still on her for a moment, taking deep breaths, then started laughing. "I can't believe how much that bed squeaked."

"Really?" She honestly hadn't noticed. "If we hear applause from the hall, we're not doing this again. Not here."

He kissed her forehead, then pulled out to dispose of the condom. He came back with a hot washcloth for her, then flopped down beside her, and in a few minutes was snoring.

.

After lunch there was another unexpected package delivered to the room. With no address nor return address, it contained a gross of condoms.

.


	19. Day 19

NSFW

.

.

**Day 19**

.

She bit the pillow as he pounded into her from behind, rocking the bed with each thrust. She was now keenly aware of every squeak, but tried not to focus on what people in the hall might think. Nothing had been said to them but a few hidden smirks and rolled eyes told the tale. Everyone knew what was going on in this room.

"Come on baby," Edward huffed from behind her, "One more." One of the hands that had been gripping her hips slapped her clit and she was off again, dropping the pillow to howl her pleasure. He was right behind her with a series of "Yes, Yes, YESSSSes," that could probably be heard from the parking lot.

Collapsing like a house of cards, she felt pleasantly flattened by his weight on her back. While she caught her breath, her eyes wandered to the toy on the table. He might act like a boy, but, _ummmm_, he was all man when it counted.

He lifted up, snapping off the condom. "Four down."

"It's not a contest."

He looked at her from the bathroom doorway, a sweaty, sexy mess. "Got to have goals, Dr. Swan."

She giggled into her hands. She'd never wanted someone like she wanted him, with a raw need that made her do things she'd never have imagined. Sex with strangers listening? Check. Declaring herself after two weeks? Check. Planning on a life together with an unshakable faith that this man was her forever? Check.

"I'm taking a shower," he called. "Can you ask for some Tylenol? I've got a little bit of a headache."

She sprang up from the bed and went to him. "What's wrong?"

"I told you." He kissed her forehead before stepping under the water. "No big deal, you're wearing me out. All my blood has been headed south, if you know what I mean."

The shower stall was too small for two, even two people who didn't mind being on top of each other. There was no room to wash each other or to have shower sex; they'd tried yesterday and gave up after splashing water all over the floor. She leaned on the sink, watching him lather up, wishing for more room and a nice big bathtub filled with hot water and hot man.

His hands were scrubbing his scalp when she stuck her hand in the shower, pumping his cock. He kept his eyes closed, but smiled.

"Ben, I said we couldn't do that anymore."

She dropped his penis and slapped his ass.

"Please Sir, may I have another!"

She laughed, "What am I going to do with you?"

He leaned his head out to kiss her, water dripping everywhere. "Just love me."

...

Edward was making up the bed with the extra sheets that magically appeared sometime after the condoms. He was dressed, for the moment, and sat down legs spread, waiting for her. She sat, removing the towel around her head and handed him her wide tooth comb.

He liked to comb out her hair and she liked to feel his careful strokes on her head and his strong legs bracketing hers. It was sexy and non-sexual at the same time. She felt cared for and comforted. She closed her eyes and let him work. She may have let the towel around her body slip a little, revealing her breasts. He may have stolen a kiss on her back and behind her ear every few strokes. It was a new kind of bliss.

Real world thoughts crept into her mind. "When are you going back to work?"

"Don't know. I have to give them two weeks' notice so they can work me into the schedule. You?"

"My patient's parents are still freaking out about the 'Ebola doctor'. The practice is giving me three weeks paid vacation after this. But I don't know if I want to go back."

She tried to organize her thoughts before she spoke. She didn't know where he stood on this issue, and it might be a deal breaker for him. "I was thinking of doing something more long term with MSF. When I graduated med school I did two seven month tours. If it wasn't for my parents bugging me to settle down in the states, I might be one of those doctors that just comes home and sleeps on my parent's couch for a few weeks before heading out again."

"Is there room on that couch for me?"

"Oh yeah." She smiled as his hands rubbed her shoulders. "Plenty of room." Her heart was beating faster, because his answer could change everything. "You think you'd want to go with me?"

"Just tell me when."

…

**-21 days-Day 19—**

.

He didn't like Bella's moratorium on sex. Granted, it was just for an hour before temp time, but he couldn't get enough of her. He lay in bed, alone for a change, listening to her click away on the keyboard. His head felt better. Arlene had showed up with the Tylenol and an arched eyebrow, looking at the pile of dirty sheets that hadn't been collected yet.

He was bored. If Bella wouldn't do _that_ with him, at least she could provide some mental stimulation. "Why pediatrics?"

She stopped writing and turned to face him. "It was my favorite rotation. I'm a neonatologist. Miniature humans are just fascinating."

"But you work in a general peds practice."

"I didn't want to spend my whole life in the NICU. And it's nice to have some patients who can talk. _And_ it's a big practice, so I wasn't working all the time." She moved from the desk and sat cross-legged on the bed facing him. "Correction, I wasn't _supposed_ to be working all the time. I was the only one without kids so I took a lot of extra shifts."

"That wasn't fair."

"I didn't mind. Wasn't like I had a lot to come home to."

He digested the information. He'd done the same thing for his coworkers who were parents. He loved kids, but never particularly felt the need to have one, until he met her. She surprised him with her question.

"Who?"

He blinked at her. "Who what?"

"Who had cancer? I never met anyone in oncology who didn't have a person inspiring them."

"Yeah." He looked away from her eyes. Of course he'd planned on telling her, but maybe when they were in matching rocking chairs on a porch somewhere in the distant future. He didn't like the reaction he got when he told people, so after a while he just stopped. He should have known she'd guess.

"It was you?" She took his hand. "That explains the Lego habit."

"I was nine. Leukemia. I was in and out of the hospital for treatment, and at one point I was there for a solid month. There was a male nurse, I mean all the nurses on the floor were great, but this one nurse Glen did magic tricks, wore crazy hats, fake noses, told really bad jokes. It was like, if this guy could be joking all the time, it couldn't be so bad, right? He gave me hope."

She squeezed the hand she was holding. Her other hand went to her eyes.

He sighed. "I made you cry again."

Bella sniffed. "I'm grateful to a man I never met, for taking care of you."

"Baby, don't." He guided her down to his side. "I'm here. I'm good."

…

Arlene was not happy. "I'm going off shift and you're running 100 degrees. If you're not down tomorrow we're doing blood work."

"It's the, a, change in activity level." He didn't think she'd buy it. Bella was staring at him too.

"Dr. Swan, maybe you should stay in your room."

"No, I'm staying with him." He liked the way she stood taller when she said that. Protective Bella was extra sexy.

"Any other symptoms Mr. Cullen?"

"No, I—"

"Slight headache, increased lethargy." Bella glared at him, challenging him to contradict her. "You've been sleeping, a lot."

"Well we've been…" his eyes darted to the medic "busy."

"Take it easy tonight Tigger." Arlene looked at him, then at Bella. He didn't need a translator; that look meant keep an eye on him.

…

"Let's turn in early."

"Sure." He wiggled his eyebrows. "We've got 145 condoms left. Don't want them to go to waste." Thinking about number five, employed while Bella gripped the sink watching him in the mirror, was revving him up again.

"No, we're sleeping. We have two days left, don't blow it."

"Just once?"

"No. Rest." She waited until he got into bed. She turned off the desk lamp and climbed in after him. There was enough light from the bathroom to see her face when she turned to him.

"What's the first thing you want to do when we get out?"

He thought for a moment. "I want to check into a hotel with you and go nowhere for a week."

"You realize that's what we've been doing for 19 days."

"So? This wouldn't be so bad if we had a bigger bed, better sheets and alcohol."

"Hmm, true." She snuggled into him, putting her arm across his chest. "I want to go on a walk down the shore."

"You want to go to the beach? In December?"

"Not the beach, the shore. It's nice if it's sunny."

"You Jersey girls." He kissed the top of her head. "New Yorkers call it the beach."

"You New Yorkers. Where do you live anyway?"

"Upper, upper East side. One bedroom, nothing too exciting."

"That's kind of a long way from my condo."

"A week at a hotel. Then we decide where we're going to live."

"Oh, so we're living together now?"

"Yes." In his mind there was no option, whatever it took he wasn't going to give her up.

She kissed his nose. "Okay. But only if you go to sleep now."

He closed his eyes.

…

Her lips were on his forehead.

"Baby, you're hot."

"Thanks. You're hot." He wanted to say something clever, but as he turned to face her a wave of dizziness struck him. His head was throbbing.

"Edward, you're burning up. I'm calling the medic."

Bella went to phone.

"Wait for Arlene." He sat up quickly to stop her from calling when another wave of nausea hit him. "Fuck, the garbage pail—"

He emptied his stomach while Bella patted his back. When he stopped heaving, Bella put down the can and went to the hall, throwing open the door. He heard her yelling for the medics, but she seemed so far away. Going to sleep was such a good idea…

.

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><p><strong>AN<strong>: Keep calm and **TRUST** ME! It is labeled angst/romance, Next chapter tomorrow

As if anyone cares about this right now, Thanks to **The Lemonade Stand** girls for featuring this story today.


	20. Day 20

**Day 20**

**.**

The team raced into the room. Bella had cold wet towels on Edward's head and behind his neck.

"Ok, I need to start an IV, he needs fluids STAT and let's get 800 mgs of Motrin in him. While we're at it lets add Zofran, 40mg push and get some labs drawn, full rainbow plus a lactic and blood cultures times two and some recent vitals would be nice**." **She looked up at the people wrapped in plastic, "What the hell are you waiting for?"

A voice she didn't recognize came from one of the people in protective gear. "Dr. Swan, step away from the patient."

"Who the hell are you?"

"I'm Lieutenant Commander Eric Campbell, I'm a clinician from the Centers for Disease Control. I'll be escorting Mr. Cullen to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital. They're set up to treat the Ebola virus."

"No one here knows more about treating this than I do. I'm going with him." She looked from person to person, but no one moved.

Campbell said more firmly. "I'm sorry. You're still under quarantine. You cannot leave the fort."

"I, I can't…I have to stay with him." She touched his face, it was still far too warm. She clasped his hand in both of hers, but there was no answering pressure.

"You're delaying his treatment. Step away."

One of the night guards, she didn't know her name, put a hand to her hip, where Bella knew the guards carried their service revolvers.

She bent over him, kissing next to his ear, "Edward, I love you. I'll be with you as soon as I can." She stood and backed to the far wall of the room.

More people in protective gear ran in with a gurney, lifting him like he weighed nothing and strapped him in. She ached to help, but could only watch. She checked off in her mind as they ran through the steps. One person was listening to his lungs then took a temp, yelling out "102.7" Another medic was sticking him, quickly starting two lines in his inner elbow. They hung a bag of saline before they rushed him out of the room.

Campbell hung back. "I'm sorry, but this virus is not getting out on my watch. If he's positive, your clock resets from today."

She slid down the wall, hugging her knees to her body, never having felt so alone in her life.

…

"Alice, you can't go to the hospital."

It had started badly, and got worse. His sister's shriek had been terrible. Bella asked to speak to Jasper, but Alice reacted immediately with, "What's happened to my brother?"

"He's been taken to the hospital. His symptoms—"

"Oh my God, not my brother! JASPER!"

She wished she had another person to contact, it sounded like Alice was hyperventilating. Between the pregnancy and her frantic reaction, Bella was afraid Alice was going to faint. She hesitated calling so early in the morning, but she knew she'd want to know as soon as possible if she was in Alice's place. Alice was too hysterical to be useful, she was still sobbing on the other end. Bella needed to talk to someone who was legally able to make medical decisions for Edward if his sister wasn't up to it. She had no idea when his parents would be back, they'd never discussed the exact date, he'd only said soon. At last she heard Jasper in the back ground.

"Who's this?" he said in a hard voice.

"It's Bella Swan, Edward's Bella. He's running a temperature and vomiting, they took him to RWJ hospital."

"Christ, does that mean he has it?"

"He has some of the symptoms, the fever, headache, nausea, but that could be a hundred things. They'll treat his symptoms. If this is Ebola it will show itself quickly."

"So what do I do?"

"He needs someone to speak for him, for any medical decisions."

"What the hell do I know, I'm his lawyer, not his doctor!"

"Alice isn't thinking clearly. She isn't in any condition to be making medical judgment calls. I'm not a family member, until his parents come back, he needs someone to do it for him. That leaves you." The irony wasn't lost on Bella, that the first time she spoke to Jasper, she was asking him to possibly make life and death decisions.

"My in-laws are flying home tomorrow."

"He needs someone now. You can call me and ask any questions, but I have no way of knowing what's going on unless you tell me."

She heard him speaking away from the phone, "Alice, please lie down before you fall down. This is no good for the baby." Back into the phone he said, "What do you want me to do?"

"Go to the hospital, make them tell you what they're doing for him, then call me."

"Okay." She heard a door close. "I'm outside. Tell me straight, if he has it, what are his chances?"

"Hell of a lot better than in Africa."

"How many died in Africa?"

"About seventy percent. But we didn't have the equipment or the resources."

"And in the US?"

"Only one person in the US died out of nine cases."

"That's what I'll tell Alice. If something happens to her brother…"

He didn't have to explain. She felt the same way.

…

Her butt was asleep from sitting on the floor by the desk. She switched to the chair, putting her chin over her crossed arms, staring at the phone, willing it to ring.

Last she heard from Jasper, he'd made it to the hospital and told her nothing she didn't already know.

A soft knock on the door was followed by Arlene entering. "I'm so sorry honey."

It wasn't her fault, Bella wanted to say, but she couldn't find the words. She opened her mouth for the thermometer and closed her eyes.

"I have to ask Dr. Swan, are you having any symptoms, headache, nausea, sore throat, aches?"

Besides her broken heart? Nothing else hurt. She shook her head.

"Good. You're 98.8." Arlene pocketed the thermometer. "If I find out anything, I'll let you know."

Bella knew that was a big thing. Legally, procedurally, Arlene shouldn't tell her anything, Bella had no legal connection to Edward. Any information Arlene gave would be at the risk of her job.

"You didn't put in a food order. You have to eat."

She knew she had to eat and drink, stay hydrated and strong. The chances of her getting the virus at day 20 was miniscule, but still there. There was a scientific reason for the 21 day quarantine, it wasn't random. One tiny virus could be in her system, hiding like an assassin, until it found the perfect time to strike.

Whatever happened, she had to be there for Edward. "I'll put in an order."

Satisfied, Arlene left.

She looked at the menu from Ben's favorite deli, remembering Edward's comments.

..

"I think you should get that one." He pointed to something called 'The Bomb.'

The Bomb was a breakfast sandwich with two fried eyes, hash browns, pork roll, sausage and bacon.

"Are you kidding?"

"Nah, you're right. Not enough bacon."

"That's way too much meat anyway."

"Let me explain this to you." He looked straight into her eyes. "Bacon, is its own food group. Bacon, is the true food of the gods. Bacon, goes with everything, especially more bacon."

Now she was crying reading a menu! What had this man done to her? She wiped her tears and ordered orange juice, a fruit cup and The Bomb, with extra bacon.

..

She called her father. She didn't want sympathy and tears, which her mother would have given her by the bucket, she wanted an action plan.

"Dad, I—"

"What the hell is going on over there? Fox news says a man was taken from quarantine, suspected of having Ebola. Of course, they're blaming it on Obama, but I was worried it was you. They didn't release his—"

"Dad, it's my friend. It's Edward."

She didn't share everything with her parents about Edward, but her father picked up on him being more than a friend from the beginning. He'd spent the day with Alice after all, and the way she ran her mouth, he probably knew more about Edward's childhood than she did.

"What can I do?"

"Worst case, he has the virus. He'll be treated..." She swallowed, trying to stay calm. "Treated until he gets better. Maybe a couple of weeks. If he has it, I'm in here for 21 days from yesterday."

Her father sighed, which was pretty emotional for him. "Are you okay Bells?"

"So far I'm fine. The odds are with me."

"They say you have to be in close contact with—"

"I know, dad."

"So you've been…"

"Yes." Nothing like having to reveal to your father that you've had close, personal contact with a man, which may have endangered your life. As a doctor, she should have avoided it at all costs. If they'd kept their distance, and just waited, she wouldn't be in this situation, possibly stuck here instead of going to him. Proof that love makes you stupid. "I'll call you when I get more information."

"We'll come down tomorrow anyway. If we can't take you home we'll have a visit."

"I won't be good company."

"Then just sit back and let your mother talk. That's what I do."

She hung up quickly. The phones didn't have call waiting so she feared Jasper called while she was talking. She couldn't bear the suspense, so she called him.

"Hold on, I'm on with Alice."

In the silence she resented him talking to his wife, Edward's sister, instead of talking to her. It was irrational, but these weeks with Edward had sucked the rational out of her. Somehow, C-3PO wound up in her hand. She looked at the little toy. "He'd better be okay. What if he's not? I just found him. All these years I was getting by. I never knew what I was missing. Listen to me- Are there any cliché's I've missed? Maybe I'm losing it, I'm talking to a piece of plastic."

"Dr. Swan?"

Angela's voice through the door shut her up. She didn't need a psyche evaluation to keep her stuck a second longer than necessary.

"I'm on the phone."

"Okay. Let me know if you need anything."

The guards had always been pleasant, but now they had that gooey sweet attitude towards her that oozed of sympathy and that hidden joy that they weren't in Bella's pathetic situation. Or maybe she was overanalyzing this. Angela had always been helpful. Maybe she did need to get some sleep. _How long did Jasper have to talk with that nut job Alice anyway? No, that was not kind, Bella. She helped you get rid of Emmett, you really shouldn't…oh my God, now I'm talking to myself._

"Bella?" At last, Jasper was talking to her.

She sat up straight, willing him to tell her good news.

"Yes…what's happening?"

"The doctor said they're still running tests. He's developed a rash—"

"A rash? What does it look like, how big, where is it, is it spreading?"

"I didn't ask, he just said a rash."

"What about his eyes? Did they mention the whites of his eyes?"

"They didn't say. He's still running a temperature."

Having these tantalizing bits of information was almost worse than knowing nothing. Jasper didn't know what to ask, and the doctors were not sharing more than would satisfy a layman.

"Could you get one of the doctors on the phone to talk to me?"

"Not without Edward's permission. I asked. They weren't too crazy about talking to me since I'm just his brother-in-law."

"Is he conscious?"

"I didn't ask."

It was a stupid question. If Edward was conscious and lucid, he'd insist on talking to her or having one of the doctors talk to her. She needed to keep her cool with Jasper. It wasn't his fault that he couldn't communicate with the staff and he was her only conduit to Edward right now.

"I think they said something about Benadryl. At least that's what it sounded like."

Benadryl? That didn't make sense.

"And something with an A, he was talking too fast."

"Ok, Jasper. You get a piece of paper. I'm going to tell you what to ask, and you badger that doctor like he's on the witness stand. Just because he's wearing a white coat, doesn't mean he gets away with not telling you what's going on."

.

.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:<strong> If this sounds authentic, it is entirely due to my favorite nurse in the world, **NurseBeta**. Even running on a sleep deficit, she managed to look this over for all the medical stuff, and added some RL lingo. I just wish we were in the Harry Potter universe where a good dose of chocolate could fix almost anything.

Thanks for not running away screaming after last chapter, I was afraid to post it. And I admit, after I post I usually wait to see if any reviews come up, and for the longest 25 minutes, NO ONE REVIEWED! I thought you'd all abandoned me, then finally, they started coming. Thanks for the trust.


	21. Day 21

**.**

**Day 21**

**.**

Jasper needed to go home to sleep and calm Alice, but Bella stayed up, counting the hours until he returned to the hospital.

Her mother called last night, with her urgent question—what should she bring for Bella to wear home? She wasn't sure if it was denial or optimism but her mother's musing on the weather and if Bella wanted a blue or red sweater made her want to pretend that that's exactly how it would happen. Her parents would show up, she'd put on the new clothes her mother picked out, they'd go to the hospital where Edward had a severe but short lived reaction to something he ate, and they could all go home. The end.

The reality wouldn't be so pretty, she knew, watching the light change out her window as the sun rose. Before Jasper went home he chased after the doctor in charge of the case, who would only say the tests were incomplete and inconclusive at this time. Another way of saying 'I think I know what it is, but everyone in the country is watching so I've got to be damn sure I'm not making a mistake'. At this moment, the most important question had a binary answer, yes or no. He had Ebola or he didn't. Everything hinged on the answer.

She knew the hospital, she had privileges there, but she didn't know the doctor handling Edward's case. She knew they'd be giving him the finest care humanly possible which was the only reason she wasn't climbing the walls. She looked around at the walls that had contained her for the last 21 days. This might be her last day here but no matter what else happened, she'd never be the same.

…

Angela brought in her breakfast, a spinach omelet. Bella had no appetite, but was treating herself with food and drink as if it were medicine.

Angela didn't leave as usual but stood in the doorway. "I…Ben and I are really sorry about this."

Bella glanced up while sipping grapefruit juice. "It's not your fault."

"I know but…we never had anyone actually get sick. We were kind of treating it like a joke, like this whole quarantine was just for public relations, but this virus is really scary."

"Yeah, it is." Bella couldn't blame anyone here. "I've seen it in action. It's deadly and fast, people die in a week, sometimes only days. And no one goes near them, they can't. Someone came up with a saying, 'Hugs Kill'. It's true, the people in the clinics died in stranger's arms, because no one without protective gear could come near them. Being back here, Africa seems like a different universe. You can't imagine." She looked back to the window. "I should have known better."

"You people are really brave."

"Brave or delusional. Somehow you have to think you can beat this monster, and that it won't get you." Bella remembered the last moments of the people the monster got. "Angela, what usually happens after the 21 days?"

"About midday Lieutenant Commander Campbell or whoever is the senior medical officer on duty does a last check and then you're dismissed."

..

She had nothing to pack. Whatever she brought back with her from Africa had been either destroyed or sanitized and stored. The dismissal procedure said that whoever was picking you up had to bring a full set of clothing, shoes, socks, everything. Anything that they'd touched during the quarantine had to stay here. Of course there was nothing in the books regarding her situation. As far as the government was concerned, you either left on your own two feet or in an ambulance. Rebounders were not on their radar.

No call from Jasper. She'd left him four messages. She had nothing to do but wait. Wait and think. Speaking of thinking, was Edward thinking at all when he signed up to fight Ebola? She'd heard the desperate pleas, sent to former volunteers who could get up to speed quickly and step in to stem the tide of this virus. But with his immune system—there had to have been somewhere less hazardous for him to help. His illness had left him with a zeal for life, that she loved, but was he ignoring the possible dangers? Did he not care or did he feel he had nothing left to lose? She knew cancer survivors who went both ways. Some jumping out of airplanes or hiking the Appalachian Trail or running with the bulls or moving to Vegas because they feel like they got a second shot at life. Some hunker down, eating organic everything, avoiding every toxin and even the slightest imagined danger because they feel they escaped death by too narrow of a margin. It would be nice to settle somewhere in between the two. She didn't want to change Edward's spirit, but they'd be discussing this for sure.

At last, Jasper was on the line.

"What's going on with Edward?"

"I don't know. Alice took a fall trying to reach something in the closet. We're at Hackensack University Hospital, waiting to see her doc. They think she broke her wrist."

She heard Jasper say that he'd try to call RWJ, but they weren't too forthcoming on the phone. More than one news agency was trying to get information. He had to turn his phone off where they were, so he'd try to reach her later. She barely was able to wish Alice and the baby well without becoming hysterical herself. Now she had no way to even find out what was happening with Edward. She could only hope his parents would arrive soon. Jasper told her the night before that they would take a car service to RWJ as soon as they landed.

She couldn't take it anymore. She leaned on the wall and hammered with her fists in frustration. She expected the door to open, and Angela to come check on her, but when she turned around it wasn't her guard in her room. It was Lieutenant Commander Campbell.

"Dr. Swan, is there a problem?"

"You're kidding, right?"

"I'm here for your exit checkup. Or should I say, check out."

Arlene walked in and stood behind him, her lips turned up just at the corners.

Bella held her breath, hoping so badly that this was not a dream or a mistake.

"Does that mean Edward doesn't have Ebola?"

"Due to the privacy laws I'm unable to discuss the medical diagnosis or treatment of any other patient. But I can say, there's no reason for you to stay here any longer."

She surprised herself when she gave into her first impulse, and tackled him with a hug.

.

.

**-21 days- Day 21-**

Edward swallowed, his back was itchy, his head was aching, but he heard the sweetest sound in the world.

"About time you woke up."

"Grmmm. Water."

"I have something better." Bella tipped a cup over and took out an ice chip for him.

"Mmmm. Better." He stuck his tongue out and she gave him another. His lips felt like they were cracked, and before he could say anything she was swabbing them with Vaseline. "You'd make a good nurse."

"Thank you." He felt her kiss on the back of his hand. "You had me worried."

He suddenly realized they weren't in either of their rooms. "Hey, we're out of quarantine."

"Well, technically, I'm out. You're back in."

"That doesn't make sense."

"What do you remember? I'll explain from there."

"I felt like crap, my head hurt, I hurled, and then, flashes, getting into an ambulance, a bunch of suited up people around me. I felt like ET."

"Yes, you were the biggest thing that ever happened at Fort Monmouth. You had a temp, headache, vomiting...and you have ten news crews outside the hospital, waiting to get the scoop on the Ebola Hottie."

"Are you serious?"

"Yes, about all of it. You have a virus, but you don't have the Ebola virus."

"I kind of guessed, since we're having this conversation. So what do I have?"

"You're on Benadryl, Aciclovir twice a day and calamine lotion."

"Calamine lotion?" His head was still cloudy but when he added up his symptoms with the treatment, he came up with, "Varicella?"

"Yep. You have chicken pox."

"Chicken Pox? So what's with the news crews? I'm not the first adult to get it."

"No, but watch this." Bella clicked the remote to turn up the volume on the TV. He hadn't realized it was even on, he'd been so focused on Bella.

"_Today Time Magazine announced their person of the year 2014 is a group of people, the Ebola Workers. Medical saviors—"_

"We're famous." He coughed and she handed him another chip. "We shouuuld 'ave champaane."

"Finish your chip, doctor's orders. Champagne when I take you home."

"So, I'm the Ebola Hottie?"

"You're on one of the covers. _And_, someone posted some pictures of you half naked in one of the outdoor showers. Your abs have quite the following." Her hand on his forehead felt cool and good as she caressed his face. "Go back to sleep now babe. Sooner you get better, the sooner I can get you out of here. And you can sign some magazines for the nurses."

"Mmph." He rolled onto his side while holding her hand. "Where's my mom and dad?"

"They won't let them in the hospital since they flew in from Guatemala. It would have been nice of you to mention that they were orthodontists and both volunteered for Smile Train."

"Mmm. Then you wouldn't have been as impressed with me."

"Explains your perfect teeth."

He smiled, intending to sleep until he remembered who else was missing. "Where's Jasper and Alice?"

Bella tilted her head as she spoke. "Alice is pregnant, remember?"

"Oh, right, and she can't come near chicken pox."

"And Jasper is taking care of her. She fell and broke her wrist trying to get scrapbooking supplies from the closet." She chuckled. "See that sign on the door? You're in isolation. Soooo, you're all mine."

"I don't need a sign to tell me that." He looked around the room, at the foot of the bed and the wall, looking for the plastic pocket they used for folders. "Where's my chart?"

"Silly Edward, it's on a tablet, they don't leave them laying around. You're fine, I checked. I told them I was your doctor, they showed me everything."

"How'd you get away with that?" He hadn't questioned Bella wearing scrubs since that's all he ever saw her in, but she also had on a white coat over the scrubs. Why wasn't she wearing street clothes?

"I have privileges here. I told them I was your physician, and when they asked you if Isabella Swan was your doctor you said 'forever and ever'."

"Even sick I'm charming."

She smiled while rolling her eyes. "And humble." She examined his IV and felt his head with the inside of her wrist.

"I still don't understand why I got chicken pox. I know I was immunized after I finished my chemo."

She sighed, "Your immune system is a little wonky. So you're the one in a million guy who gets it, despite the vaccination."

"I'm one in a million." He smiled, and went to scratch his back, but she knocked his hand away and gave him the mom eye. One day she'd be an amazing mom.

"More like one in seven billion. You're it for me." She rubbed his head and he leaned into her hand. "Don't ever do this to me again. Ever."

"What the heck!" Edward sat up, grabbing for the remote. "Turn up the volume!"

"…the fifteen year old sister of Miss Reno was pictured on several social media sites wearing her sister's pageant sash. The man in the photo, thirty one year old Emmett McCarthy, was hospitalized after allegedly being beaten by the father of the young girl, former Dallas Cowboys Offensive tackle, Terry…"

He couldn't hear the rest of the interview, Bella was laughing too hard.

.

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><p>.<p>

.

**AN: Today, in a perfectly timed announcement, Ebola Workers were declared Time magazine's person of the year 2014. Well-deserved recognition for these brave and dedicated men and women. Lolypop82 made fantastic 2 manips of Time magazine featuring Dr. Swan and Nurse Cullen. They are on her tumblr account. I bow to her skill with a pixel**

For those worried, Emmett only kissed the faux Miss Reno, but his beat down by her enraged father was real, and so deserved.

Chicken pox, like Ebola, has up to a 21 day incubation period. I know this, I lived through my first child having a terrible case of chicken pox and a full 21 days later, they showed up on his sister. Two sharp reviewers guessed what Edward had, **sassygirl156** and **maymay74**. Well done ladies. Chicken pox in adults is more severe and can occur (very rarely) in people who have had the disease before and who may not have developed the proper antibodies when immunized. I consulted with a doctor whose adult grandchild had recently been hospitalized due to chicken pox, who assures me, it's miserable.

There will be another 'day' or two, I just need a breather.

Thanks so much for all the reviews and the trust. Glad you stuck with me


	22. Day 27

**Day 27**

**.**

"This isn't the right way." Edward twisted in his seat, pointing to the exit they'd just passed.

"Yes it is." Bella checked over her shoulder before she changed lanes. She'd been avoiding this conversation.

"But I live in New York. You said you were taking me home."

"Edward, where do your parents live?"

"New Jersey."

"Where does your sister live?"

"New Jersey."

"Where do my parents live?"

"New Jersey."

"Where do I live?"

"Look, if this is going to be one of those things were you ask me eight questions so I'll answer the way you want me to I'm on to you. I escaped New Jersey, I wasn't planning on going back."

"Okay." She signaled and moved right. "I'll get off at the next exit, drive you to your apartment, and leave you there. Alone."

"But, but, you said you'd take care of me."

"Yes. At my place. In New Jersey."

He crossed his arms and slouched down in his seat.

"Alice told me, saying you live in a walk-in closet is an insult to walk-in closets."

"It has a window. Closets don't have windows." She could tell he was pouting by the way his arms were crossed even as he stared out of the car.

"Your apartment only has a shower. I have a whirlpool tub."

He tilted his head. "Tell me of this tub."

"It's deep, long enough to stretch out. And there's a heater, so it keeps the water warm as loooong as you want."

"Hmmm. I should visit this tub. Just to be courteous."

"Oh yeah, that's you. All about the courtesy."

"I've been sick, you're supposed to be nice to me."

"If I had to watch another nurse or volunteer or anyone female be nice to you again I'd have to start practicing my surgical skills."

"They were just being friendly, you shouldn't hurt them."

"Who said I would be practicing on them?"

"I never knew you had this evil side."

"I never knew you had this whiney side."

"I'm tired of itching and not being able to scratch. A man likes to scratch things."

"I know. We're almost home."

Turning onto her street Bella sighed. She could see a swarm of balloons in front of her place even from the far end of the neighborhood. Some enterprising fans must have left their tributes to Edward Cullen at her house. She'd made sure all the balloons, flowers and teddy bears sent to Edward by strangers had been forwarded to the children's floor, after first removing the cards, notes, photos and phone numbers that came with them. A red lingerie teddy went straight into the garbage. All it took was that magazine cover, a few inappropriate pictures on the internet, and her Edward was suddenly being claimed by girls and full grown women from all over the world. She'd looked at the twitter accounts and tribute websites that sprung up overnight. Bella agreed: he was handsome and kind and smart and gorgeous, but these groupies didn't seem to get that he was hers! She had no idea how it had gotten out that she and Edward were connected, but it was 'out there' and despite their relationship being known, it was not being respected. They hadn't had one minute together as a normal couple, yet people were predicting the end of their relationship, stating they were only together because of the stress of their confinement. Otherwise normal woman had taken up wearing 'The Future Mrs. Cullen' and 'Nurse Cullen, Examine Me' tee shirts. It was rude and aggravating, but Edward found it funny.

"Babe," he'd said, probably when she was dabbing him with calamine lotion, "Those chicks don't know you. If they did, they'd realize they don't have a chance."

It was creepy that they'd found her address, and that they'd gotten into the gated community. There were some conspiracy theories floating around that Edward actually did have Ebola and 'Dr. Swan' was some kind of super expert, posing as a girlfriend when she was actually caring for him in secret so the public wouldn't panic. Some of the stories were quite romantic—that they met in Africa, these versions ignoring the fact that Africa was a continent and they'd been in different countries. Then there was the Tanya theory, fed by the woman herself, that Edward was secretly waiting to get well so that they could be reunited. This one irked Bella the most, she could admit to herself. Tanya had been with Edward on the outside—she had the pictures to prove it. She claimed that she forgave Edward for his indiscretions while in quarantine, although she didn't say it so politely. Tanya had said, "Edward was always a horny dude. He couldn't go that long without getting some, same as me. We have a understanding." She even used the stupid air quotes when she said understanding, as Bella saw in the video her mother had so kindly forwarded to her.

Did Bella believe her? No. But it still was an unsettling feeling, like having a giant pimple on your nose. It wasn't going to kill you, but everyone could see it and it was as annoying as hell. Tanya was that zit that wouldn't go away.

Edward must not have spotted the balloons yet. He loved them as much as they annoyed her. His eyes were closed, his head back against the seat. "When am I due for more Benadryl?"

"Half hour." She knew he knew the correct timing for his next dose, he was just hoping that if he asked again she'd push it a little closer for him. She wouldn't.

"Uggggh." Edward rubbed the palms of his hands together rapidly. It was a trick she showed him to take his mind off the place that was actually itching. He had pox everywhere. It was funny but not funny, as she dabbed the spots around his crotch. She'd volunteered for the duty, exerting her ownership of this part of his anatomy. She was happy that this wasn't the way she'd first seen him naked, there was nothing sexy about it. It was sad, even as he joked, to see him so uncomfortable.

The driveway was blocked by dozens of get well balloons and a bunch that read 'Welcome Home.'

Her mother came out the front door, waving at them.

"You're here!" Renee ran up to Edward's side as Bella parked. "Edward, let me help you out."

"Mom, he can walk. That's not his problem."

Her mother had been overwhelmingly contrite, at first. That somehow morphed into revisionist history as Renee claimed, "I always knew there was something off about Emmett." Bella knew that was entirely fictitious, her mother had been mad for Emmett since he first brought Renee flowers and jewelry. Looking back, Bella realized he'd courted her mother almost as much as he'd courted her.

"I cooked and Esme made some macaroni and cheese _thing._"

Her mother had a little bit of a love/hate _thing_ going on with Edward's mother. She loved that Esme loved Bella, praising her intelligence and compassion. The problem was that Esme did not agree with Renee, that Edward and Bella should now stay put in the US of A forever and ever. Esme actually had the nerve to try to recruit Renee to travel with the Smile Train to help in a non-medical capacity.

"So, do you like the balloons?" Renee looked at them with the yearning of a dog for praise. "I brought the ones in front, but those others were already here. I thought Esme brought them, but she said she didn't even think of balloons." She said it with a sniff, as though not thinking of balloons to welcome them home was some kind of moral inadequacy.

"Yes, they're great." Bella thought they were anything but great, having overdosed on balloons through Edward's daily deliveries.

"Thanks Renee, they're super." Even with the crusted marks on his forehead and neck, Edward was disarmingly handsome.

Renee simpered back. "I'm glad someone appreciates them."

Bella rolled her eyes. How is it, that even as an adult, her mother could evoke those teenage feelings with one statement or glance? Then again, Bella had been back to her place a few times while Edward was in the hospital. Renee hadn't produced any balloon display for her. _Great_, she thought, _now I've reverted to a jealous _pre_-teen_. She loved her mother, but sometimes the woman brought out the worst in her.

For a minute, she wished they were back in quarantine, just the two of them talking and laughing and joking with Ben or Angela. She never thought she'd ever want to go back there, but the real world was more intrusive than she'd ever imaged. Maybe what they'd found in their quarantine wouldn't translate to the outside world.

"In we go." Renee held open the front door, waving them on like toddlers.

Bella liked her home, it was functional, clean and comfortable. Suddenly she worried that Edward would feel out of place. Maybe it was a mistake bringing him to her home, maybe he wouldn't be comfortable knowing she'd so recently lived with someone else in the same space. Emmett had kept surprisingly few things, besides his clothes, here. She didn't miss the big ugly recliner or the gaming system and oversized tv that went with him when he moved out. Her mother had replaced the bedding, so while it was the same bed the bedroom didn't look anything like it did when Emmett slept there. She'd been back and forth from the hospital a few times, but instead of relaxing on her plush sofa or getting a real sleep in her bed, she only rushed to get what needed to be done quickly, then headed back to Edward. He was her home now. This place was only where she kept her things.

She smiled as he entered the living room, looking around and nodding his head. His smile filled the place up.

Renee was fluttering, putting out bowls on the table. "I made soup. At last you'll get some good food."

Bella put her head down and smiled. She didn't want to point out that they'd had fantastic food in quarantine. Her mother meant well. It wasn't her fault that Bella just wanted to get Edward alone, even if he wasn't able to be intimate, she just wanted to be with him, in the quiet.

"Did you know, I heard on the news that Angelina Jolie has the chicken pox too? So I guess it happens."

Yes, Bella did know. Almost every person that had come in contact with her felt the need to mention it, that since someone famous had chicken pox as an adult, that Bella wasn't making up a story, since apparently her poor, pox covered boyfriend was not proof enough. Edward put his hand over hers. He didn't seem to mind the whole Angelina thing, but he'd heard Bella go off about it more than once, and must have sensed she was about to blow.

Renee remained oblivious to her daughter's distress. "This box came, addressed to Edward."

_Great_, Bella thought. What would this be? More sleazy pictures, another set of handcuffs, a second naughty nurse outfit?

"Oh, let's see." Edward had his hands on the box before she could protest. Bella suspected he was the kind of kid who'd hunt out, unwrap and rewrap all his Christmas presents.

She should warn him that…too late, he'd ripped it open already.

He pulled out a piece of paper. "There's a note."

There was always a note. 'You're so wonderful', 'You're my soul mate', 'Me and my twin sister want to do you, name the day and time'. His fan mail ranged from the sweet cartoon scribbles of children to lurid photographs. After vetting the slimy ones she felt like running through decontamination again. Of course she'd given Edward the sweet ones, so of course he expected nothing less than adorable.

"What?" His eyebrows went up as he read.

Bella snorted to herself as Renee ladled out the soup, waiting for Edward to explain.

"It's from Ben. They had to sanitize everything in my room. They were going to throw it out, but Ben put it in a bucket of bleach." As he shook the box it made a clinking sound. "It's the Sandcrawler. It came apart, but he said it's all here."

**-21 days-Day 27-**

Renee gathered the dishes from the table. "After I take care of these I'll go run Edward's bath."

"Mom, thanks, but I'll take care of that."

"Ok." Renee set the stack on the counter. "I'll go run—"

"Mom, thanks for all your help, but I think I can handle things from here."

Edward sat, trying not to squirm too much. He was itching, but if he showed it the two women would be on him immediately. He was waiting for the Benadryl, delivered exactly on time via Dr. Swan, to kick in. He felt a little guilty that he was enjoying the two of them essentially fighting over him. It was sweet of Bella's mother to care so much and it was funny that the strong, confident woman he fell in love with was whining over her mother's mothering.

And though Bella thought he was unaware of the extra special attention the female staff had been giving him, he was. He found that laughing it off worked best. Laughing acknowledged the person without giving them hope that he thought anything more of their behavior. The only woman he was concerned with was giving her mother the eye, as Renee continued not getting the hint that he and Bella really just wanted to be alone. For the first time, completely alone, without a guard, doctor, nurse, parent or epidemiologist within hearing range. He was going to have to say something. How to not offend, but still get the lady to leave?

"Bella, I think…I think I may have a new…outbreak."

"What? They should all be on the way out by now. Let me see it."

In reality, Edward had almost no shame and would strip as needed, wherever needed, which was how those pictures wound up on the internet. He needed to pretend that he could be embarrassed.

"It's kind of, umm." He glanced down at his lap a few times, till he could see Renee react. "I know you said the fresh ones are still contagious." He knew Bella's mother was extremely nervous about germs in general.

"Your father is going to be looking for his dinner soon. I better go." Renee closed the dishwasher. "Call me if you need anything, anything at all."

"We will." Bella looked visibly more relaxed than a minute ago.

"Thanks for the soup and everything Mrs. Swan."

"Now you call me Renee, I told you that, and you feel better." She blew a kiss and was out the door.

Bella stood until her mother's car started, then turned to Edward. "You did that on purpose."

"Are you mad?"

"No." She kissed the top of his head. "But I'm going to examine you anyway."

…

Bella sat on the side of the tub in shorts and a tee shirt while pouring more of the powdery stuff into the water, swirling it in with her hand.

He sniffed the air. "I usually have maple syrup and raisins with my oatmeal."

"I never had an oatmeal bath myself. How does it feel?"

"Come on in and find out." He enjoyed her playful smile as she answered him.

"Next time."

He eyed her legs and the smooth skin of her arms. He'd never had the chance to look at her at his leisure. Every minute together to this point had been at some level of drama. At least he'd been unconscious for a while, Bella had been aware of every crazy minute. There was something so right about being with her, but she was too far away. He wanted to touch her. She folded a towel, then bent over to pick up a piece of paper, showing him her lovely rear view. Parts of him that were under water started responding. That was a good thing, he noted, nothing wrong with his plumbing.

"I'm saving you a seat. You can sit in my lap."

She shook her head, "When you're better."

"Promises, promises." He slid down until the water reached his ears. "Although this feels nice, it's is not how I envisioned using your tub for the first time."

"Hmmm." Bella moved down to the tile floor next to the tub with her hand in the water. "What was your vision?"

Edward found her hand and stroked her fingers. "More bubbles and a lot less clothing on your part."

"Tell me more."

"Marry me."

"What?" Bella tried to pull her hand out of the water, but he held on tight. A little water splashed over the side.

He pulled her hand to his lips. "Marry me Bella. I love you. Whatever happens next, I want you with me."

"When?"

"If I can find someone who does underwater weddings, right now." He looked at her face, where it looked like she was fighting a smile and tears at the same time. "Since you asked when, I assume you mean yes, or is it only if it fits into your schedule—"

"Yes, yes yes!" She stood so she could kiss him better, but he took the opportunity to pull her onto his lap, the oatmealy water splashing over the side of the tub. Breaking contact with his lips, she said, "People will say we're crazy."

"That's not new for me."

"Does that mean you'll move to New Jersey?"

He made an exaggerated sigh. "Yes, even that." He sat up enough so that her head stayed above the water as he held her to his chest. "Wherever you are is my home. Even New Jersey."

.

.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** 1- In my opinion, New Jersey gets a bad rap. There are many beautiful places, but you won't see them from the infamous NJ Turnpike.

2-Pretty sure I messed up the day count, I was without internet for too long. The next epi-sort-of-chapter things will be a time jump, so don't expect the days to match up anymore

3- I forgot to thank Missus T for reccing me on the Lemonade Stand. Thank you kindly. I do appreciate it.

4- It's true, my little fangirl heart skipped a beat when I found that Planet Blue was following my little tale.


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